Knuckles Quest
by slam422
Summary: The evil Black Rose threatens to awaken an the ancinet demon Nazo, and only Knuckles and his friends can save the day. The first three-four chapters are kinda cruddy, but later chapters are better. Rated T for swearing and violence. Chapter 16 is now up
1. The Day Begins

Matt: Yes, I restarted this chapter AGAIN. I only did so because I have gotten many new ideas since my last update almost a year ago. I know you might think that doesn't make sense to you, but no one ever said it had to. Please note that, while this fic is about him, Knuckles will not really get much time in the spotlight for the next couple of chapters, mainly for plot development. Also note that future chapters will feature characters from the SatAM Sonic and Sonic Underground continuities, but this story takes place in the Sega Sonic continuity. As such, certain roles, personalities & appearences may be altered to fit the story. I apologize if this upsets anyone, but I have to do it. 

Disclaimer: I do not own any Sega character that may appear in this fic. There is only one thing that I own in this chapter, and that's the story itself.  
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Knuckles Quest

Saga 1: The Beginning

Chapter 1: The Start of a Brand New Day

Angel Island is a magical paradise. Its majestic mountains, lush tropical jungle, and many historic ruins have made it a place of legend, but the one thing that makes it so magical is the fact that it is suspended in the air by a gem of infinite power known as the Master Emerald.

For well over 2 millennia, the Master Emerald has been kept safe by The Guardians, a race of echidnas who have devoted their lives to guarding the gem from all who would use its power for evil. Day in and day out, these brave echidnas protected it through rain, hail, snow, and even drought.

However, as the years went on, there numbers have dwindled; they are all but gone now. Only one is believed to be left, Knuckles the Echidna. He is the last Guardian, but he has wondered, lately, is he truly the last of his kind?

Our story begins in Angel Island's vast jungle. It is 10 in the morning, and Knuckles is trying to find a decent meal. So far all he has found is rotten fruit.

"Damn it," he said, "not even the berries are ripe today, which is strange because the Master Emeralds energy should keep at least some of the fruit ripe." Knuckles looked at the barely edible fruits he had found so far; one slightly damaged pineapple, a handful of green berries (very distasteful) and a half of a banana bunch that looked like it was about to rot.

Knuckles took a berry and was just about to choke it down when something caught his eye. He looked up in the trees when he saw the most delicious looking coconut he had ever seen.

"Finally, something edible!" he said as he grabbed the nearest rock he could find.

Knuckles drew back and threw the rock as hard as he could at the coconut, but he missed. He then decided that the best way to get at it would be to climb up to get it. Not wasting any time, mainly because he didn't want to eat rotten fruit, he climbed up the tree and knocked the coconut down.

"Yes!" Knuckles exclaimed as he jumped down from the tree. "Now to partake of it's savory milk and delicious meat...GOD that sounded wrong."

After shaking the disgusting images from his mind, Knuckles picked up a nearby stone, sat down on a large rock that was nearby, and proceeded to chip a hole in the coconut so that he could have a decent breakfast. However, as he wailed on the coconut, he couldn't help but feel as though his body was sinking lower to the ground. He stood up and turned to look at the rock he had been sitting on, which was not a rock at all, but a rather large, slightly rusted switch.

"This is new," he said to no one in paticular, "I wonder what this does?"

Knuckles put his foot on the switch and pressed it down all the way. Nothing happened, at first, but soon the ground began to shake, rattle, and roll under his feet. He thought that the ground was going to split under his feet, but just as suddenly as the shaking started, it stopped.

Knuckles was stumped, he had no idea what just happened. Just as he was about to shrug it off and go back to opening his coconut, he heard another rumbling sound, one that sounded like a large stone door slowly rising. He took a quick scan of the area, to see where the rumbling noise came from, when he saw it.

A large stone gate, previously hidden by ivy, had started to rise. It continued going further and further up until it finally stopped at the very top, revealing a large cavern. Knuckles slowly approached the newly revealed hole with caution. He knew of the ancient traps that his ancestors had created, and he was afraid that this may be one of them.

Just as Knuckles reached the entrance, something happened to him. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Many fuzzy images began to painfully flood his mind. The pain was so immense that it caused him to drop to his knees and his vision to blur. He tried to stay consious, but he was fading fast. Just before he passed out, three words, of which he had not seen or heard of for years, entered his mind, and these words would send Knuckles on a quest like none before.

"Hidden Palace Zone"  
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Twinkle park is usually a great place to go when you are in the mood for fun, exitement, and love. And if you were a part of a cute couple, you could get in free. However, now was not the time for people to have fun or to get romantic, as millions of Eggman robots, many of which were outdated Genesis-era Badniks, were attacking the park. And wherever their are Badniks and Eggman robots, Sonic wasn't to far behind with his can of whoop-ass.

Sonic jumped over a Crabmeat robot and kicked it in the behind, causing it to blow up and release a baby bear. He then dodged a bomb and destroyed the Kiki that threw it, releasing another small animal. An Egg Pawn then came up behind Sonic and tried to stab him with it's lance, but Sonic saw it comming and jumped out of the way. He then used his homming attack to take it out and took the power core so he could power-up. Several Buzz Bombers then swooped in from the sky and fired at Sonic, but he was too fast and took them all out with the pwnage that was his Sonic Wind attack, releasing the Flicky birds that were inside of them. He then ran further into the park, taking out any Badnik or Egg Pawn that got in his way, untill a Crawl, an crab-like robot with a spring shield, steped in his way, blocking Sonic's path, and bounced him back with it's shield.

"That hurt." said a very annoied Sonic. He charged at the Crawl with a Spin Dash, but it used it's shield to bounce him back again. Sonic then tried to get behind it, but the Crawl was dangerously too close to the fish pond, so that was out of the question. Sonic then got an idea; he jumped in the air and started moving in a circle really fast. The speed that he was going summoned up a small tornado that sucked the Crawl right to it. Try as it might, the poor robot just couldn't get a firm hold and got sucked into the tornado and flung upwards. Sonic then stopped and landed in front of where the tornado was and watched as it disappeared and dropped the Crawl onto the ground with a clang. The robot sustained some damage, and was unable to move or defend itself as Sonic leaped into the air and smashed it into peices, freeing a small piglet from the metal prison.

"Thank you Mr. Sonic." said the piglet.

"No problem little piggy dude," replied Sonic, "but before you scurry on home, could you tell me where the Control Tank is?"

"You mean the big shiny thing that's makin' all the robots? It's over near the entrance to the Mirror Castle."

"Thanks, now try to get out of here in one piece. There are still a lot of Badniks around."

Sonic ran off and used the bumper spring to get up to the roof of the castle and ran around, trying to find the quickest way to the entrance. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't expecting what was waiting for him. Hundreds upon thousands of Badniks surrounded the Control Tank, guarding it from any attack. Sonic almost shit himself at the site, for he had never seen THAT many robots in one place before, even during the time that he attacked Final Fortress with Knuckles and Tails.

_"Whats the matter, Sonic?"_ asked a voice from within his mind, _"Afraid of a few panzy Badniks?"_

All of a sudden, Sonic's Shoulder Devil appeared and hovered near his right shoulder. Shoulder Devil Sonic's fur & quills were red, and were a bit longer than Sonic's, his ears curved in the shape of horns, his tail was long and pointy, and he wore fingerless biker gloves and black steel-toed boots.

_"The Sonic I always knew never gave up on his goals until he accomplished them! So what if you've never taken on so many Badnik's at once before, challenges like this always make you stronger."_

_"That may be true,"_ said another voice from within his mind, _"but jumping head-first into a problem without a plan can prove fatal."_

Sonic's Shoulder Angel then appeared and hovered near his left shoulder. Shoulder Angel Sonic looked just like Sonic, but wore a white robe, brown sandals, no gloves, had baby blue eyes, had a halo over his head, had wings where his back spines were supposed to be, and held onto a golden harp.

_"You need a plan before you jump headfirst into trouble, look before you leap."_

_"That's sissy talk,"_ said S.D.S., _"This is Sonic the Hedgehog we're talking about here, there isn't anything he can't do!"_

_"That may be true,"_ replied S.A.S., _"but even a great hero, such as Sonic, isn't capable of taking on so many robots at once. I suggest that he use the remainder of his chaos energy to preform a Light Speed Attack."_

_"Peh, fine by me, but don't blame me when he runs out of energy in the middle of the attack. At least by attacking head on he has a chance to pick up any power cores or chaos drives that could restore his energy."_

_"True as that may seem, there are more Badniks down there than there are E-Series bots. If he headed in and just started destroying robots at random, there would be very little time to stop and pick up Chaos Drives or power cores because of the continuous fire."_

_"Why don't we let Sonic decide for himself,"_ suggested the Devil, _"After all, we are just personifications of Sonic's inner conflict between whether to do the smart thing or the stupid and crazy thing created by the author to show Sonic's current thoughts. Besides, it's not like Sonic can hear us right now anyway."_

S.A.S. looked at Sonic and saw that, in fact, he hadn't even heard them once.

_"Agreed."_ said S.A.S. The two of them then reared back and then dashed into Sonic's head.

Sonic blinked and looked around, as if he had just came out of a trance. "Woah!" he said, shaking his head, "what just happened? I feel like I just zoned-out for a minute there. Maybe it was the shock of seeing so many robots in one place." He turned his attention back to the robots. "Now how am I going to get down there to break that tank? There are way to many badniks and Eggman robots to just rush in, so my best bet is to use a Light Speed Attack. The problem is I'm severely low on chaos energy, so I don't know if I can charge up enough energy to preform it."

Sonic thought for a few seconds, but unfortunately it wasn't fast enough as one of the Egg Pawns noticed him.

**"ALERT! ALERT!"** it exclaimed, **"INTRUDER DETECTED WITHIN BASE CAMP!"**

_Well,_ thought Sonic, _so much for not being caught._

Sonic jumped in the air and dashed out right into the middle of the robots. The robots didn't move an inch as Sonic stood where he landed, ready for anything they would throw at him.

**"SCANNING AND CLASSIFYING INTRUDER DATA"** announced the robot. As if on cue, the eyes of every robot started to glow, scanning the data of Sonic so they could take the proper steps in removing sed intruder from the base camp. **"ALERT! ALERT! SUBJECT IDENTIFIED AS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, PRIORITY 3 TARGET! DESTROY AT ALL COSTS!"**

"Priority 3?" asked a slightly disapointed Sonic after he finished charging his Light Speed Attack. "I'm hurt. After all these years of kicking Eggman's robots to the curb he only lables me as his third most important target? Well, at least theres a bunch of his robots that I can take out to make me feel better."

Sonic released the energy and started flying through the air at light speed, taking out enemies as he flew around in a frenzy. Each robot fell one by one as they couldn't move fast enough to stop him. One of the robots took out a small walkie talkie and spoke into it.

**"ALERT,"** it chimed into the walkie talkie, **"PRIORITY 3 TARGET HAS INFILTRATED TWINKLE PARK BASE! SUBJECT IS TOO POWERFUL TO DESTROY, REQUESTING BACKUP!"** but before the robot could get it's answer, it was destroyed and it's power core was absorbed.

Sonic finally stopped his attack and looked upon the carnage of destroyed robotic components scattered all over. the baby animals within the Badniks had fled, and all of the power cores from the Egg Pawns have been absorbed by Sonic. A couple of remaining robots fearfully watched the hedgehog as he stood, keeping his head down. Very slowly, and very cautiously, moved twoards the hedgehog, weapons at the ready, to see if he had run out of energy.

To make a long story short: Sonic shot them a death glare, the robots did the mecha equivalent of pissing themselves out of fear, and they ran like there was no tomorow.

Sonic wiped his brow, let out a big sigh, and fell flat on his back. He was tired, even with the power cores he picked up he was wiped after that attack.

"MAN I'm pooped," exclaimed the tired hero with a yawn, "I guess that's what happenes when you fight badniks for several hours." Sonic looked at his wristwatch. "10:30 in the morning, I've been up all night. All I've got to do is release the baby animals in the tank, then I can go home and sleep."

Sonic forced himself to his feet and stood up. He limped over to the tank, and took a look at it. The design was the same old Control Tank that he had become familiar with, but something was different. He took a good look at the production logo, and saw that it was different, too.

Instead of the normal production logo of the Eggman Empire, it was a twisted and corrupted version of it. It was so ugly looking that Sonic just wanted to hurl at the sight of it. Either something snapped in Eggman's head, or there was someone else behind the attack.

Sonic, pushing the urge to spew down, climbed up to the top of the tank and hit the switch that would destroy the outer shell and release the small animals. He jumped down and waited... and waited... and waited, but nothing seemed to happen. He went closer to investigate, but jumped back when the tank released steam. Several ramps started to come out of it, and a couple of doors appeared on the sides.

This took Sonic by surprise, but it didn't surprise him as much as what he saw come out of it...

"Oh. My. God"  
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Matt: OOH!!! TEH CLIFFHANGER!!!!! What happened to Knuckles? What did Sonic see comming out of the capsule? Only I, the Author known as 'Matt' knows! And you all have to wait untill next chapter to find out.

But seriously, expect the next chapter soon. I will do my best on it. Later days!


	2. State of Mind

Matt: Here is chapter 2. This chapter is Knux only, and does not feature any fight scenes, but it is necessary for plot development. Expect 2 fights next chapter.

And just to let you know, the first chapter has been entirely re-written, so you may want to read that before you read this so you know what is going on.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Sega Sonic or Archie Sonic character in this fic. All I own so far is the story.

One more thing, from here on out, with the exception of battles, the entire story will be like an RPG. Why? Because I can, damn it!

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Chapter 2: State-of-Mind  
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Knux was lost, floating within a strange black void. He had no clue what was going on. One minute he was collecting food for breakfast, the next he was passing out due to some sort of vision he had, the next he was floating in an endless void, and all within no more than a few minutes. That had to be some sort of record. He tried to call for help, but found that he couldn't speak. He tried to move, but was being held in place by an invisible force.

_Well,_ thought Knuckles, _this is just great. What's going to happen next, a huge bright light comes and takes me to a place within my memories that I have long forgotten?_ Just then, a small, bright light appeared before him. The light got bigger, and bigger, and bigger until it almost blinded the echidna.

_I WAS JUST BEING SARCASTIC!!!_ Yelled the echidna in his mind, but it was already too late, the light had fully engulfed him. Knuckles held his arms up in front of his eyes to keep from being blinded as the light got brighter and brighter.

After a few moments, the light finally died down. When Knuckles was able to finally move his eyes away from his face, he was surprised at what he saw.

He was in a large room. The walls, ceiling and floor were all made of a green-tinted marble-like stone, signifying that it was a room in a temple of some sort, but many scientific devices, gadgets and do-dads were all over, making it look like a lab.

Knux was about to start exploring, when a small light appeared before him. Expecting it to grow and engulf him again, he put his arms up and braced himself. But to his surprise, the light didn't grow and engulf him as he expected, but it just floated there. He walked up to it and started to reach for it, but it started to fly around him.

_You are the one known as Knuckles, correct?_ It asked. Knux just nodded his head. _This area you are in is an area within your mind. Here, many secrets to your past and your race will be revealed. In time, you will learn things that have long since been forgotten. For now, please explore this room and read any notes you may see. Any item you find shall appear in your inventory in the real world as well. Arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible, as an adventure like none before await you. I shall return when you are ready._

And with that, the light disappeared, leaving Knux alone once again. He blinked a couple of times and just stood there trying to take in what just happened. A small light comes out of nowhere, tells him that he is in a room within his mind, tells him to read any notes he finds in here, and tells him that any item he finds will be teleported to the real world for him. Either he was drunk, or this was some sort of vision.

"Well, if it is a vision, I'd better get started" said Knux to no one in particular. He walked over to a small table and picked up a note and began to read it. It was on the basic stats of a fighter; HP (Health), CP (Chaos Energy), EP (Super Form energy), Attack, Defense, Speed, Special Defense & EXP. It also told of a device called a Status Bar that would show him his remaining HP, CP, EP & EXP. When he finished reading it, the note glowed and changed into a small watch with 4 gauges on it.

_Knuckles gained the Status Bar!_

After securing the Status Bar to his wrist, he walked over to a blackboard and started to read it. It told of Elemental Energy, and how each element had its own strengths and weaknesses. It also told of several different Status Effects that could be caused by them. When he finished reading it, it glowed and turned into 3 large red rings.

_Knuckles gained 3 Health Rings_

After stowing away the Health Rings in his hammerspace, Knuckles noticed a couple of Item Capsules with another note on one of them. The note told of how Item Capsules were scattered across the world, and how each one contained Rings, Status Items or Battle Cards. He opened each one and took their contents.

_Knuckles gained 150 Rings_

_Knuckles gained a Chaos Cola_

_Knuckles gained a Speed Sneakers Card_

The note then glowed and turned into another item, which he proceeded to pocket for later.

_Knuckles gained a Barrier Card_

There was one final note to read over near a small wardrobe. The note told of Level-up Items; Special items that could boost certain Stats and grant certain abilities. After reading this note, the wardrobe opened up, revealing a pair of metallic claws that looked as though they fit over Knuckes' hands. He grabbed them and slipped them on.

_Knuckles gained the Shovel Claws. Attack has been increased. Now Knuckles can use the Dig ability._

Once he slipped the Shovel Claws on, the entire room began to shake, and a powerful force started to pull at him. He braced himself, but he felt as though he was being dragged across the floor. Eventually Knux was pulled to the center of the force, and blacked out. When he woke up, he was outside again, but this time he was in a small village.

_This place,_ thought Knuckles, _It seems so familiar somehow. I'm obviously still on Angel Island, but I don't remember there being a village anywhere on the island._

Knuckles headed forward and searched for anyone that could give him some clue as to where he was. He stopped at a small area of loose dirt to try out his new Shovel Claws. He dug in the soft earth, revealing an Item Container that held a Battle Card.

_Knuckles gained an Invincibility Booster Card_

Knuckles then continued onward until he reached the edge of the village. Out in the open field near the edge of the village, he saw 2 echidnas talking. The first one looked like a very young Knuckles that held a teddy bear in one hand. The other was an adult echidna who looked a lot like Knuckles, but had a white beard, wore a white robe and blue boots, and had a bit more of a mature look to him. The elder echidna was talking to the younger one, but Knuckles couldn't quite hear what they were saying. He hid behind a bush that was nearby, picked it up, and moved a bit closer while staying hidden behind it until he could finally understand what they were discussing.

"Now son," said the elder echidna with a bit of a stern voice, "Have you been practicing the Prayer of Chaos?"

"Yes, Papa," answered the child, "I've been practicing every day."

"Good… and what about your history lessons?"

"We just began study on the ancient war between the Master of Chaos and the evil demon Nazo. But father, I just wanted to ask, what happened to the Master of Chaos when he sealed away the evil demon?"

"That information has been….lost to us for many millennia. Some say that he used his very soul to seal the Gate of Eternity; others say that he was sealed behind the gate himself; still others say that his body became the Master Emerald. All of them are likely, but no one can say for sure. All I know is that we are in the middle of a war, and that it is time for your martial arts lesson."

"Aww, do I have to?"

"Yes you do. Now come along, Knuckles…"  
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Knuckles woke up with a start, his body covered in a cold sweat. He frantically looked around and tried to gain his bearings, and surprised to find that he was back in front of the Emerald Shrine, but still had all of the items that he had gained during the vision. He stood up and tried to figure out how he got back there, when he heard something behind him. He turned around, and nearly fell over when he saw who it was."

"Tikal, is that you?" He asked.

Yes, indeed it was the same tribal princess from the ancient echidna tribe that Chaos had wiped out over 2 millennia ago, the one who succeeded in sealing away Chaos and herself away in the Master Emerald to protect the world from being destroyed, and the one who revealed to Sonic and the others the happenings in the past so they could be able to stop Chaos when he absorbed the power of the Chaos Emeralds.

"Yes it is," she replied, "I'm glad that you are ok."

"What happened, and how did you get here? I thought that you were nothing more than a spirit now."

"Actually, the echidna gods had granted me a second chance at life because of my sacrifice to seal away Chaos long ago. When I finally resurrected myself, I immediately came here to find you, and when I did find you, you were in a trans-like state in front of a large cavern. I brought you back here and waited until you finally woke up. You were out for about an hour."

"Well, now that I know how you got here, I have a few questions to ask of you, if you don't mind…"  
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Matt: That's it for chapter 2. Next chapter will have some action in it, I promise. There will actually be 2 fight scenes next chapter. The first one will be Sonic versus a new villan (whom is based off of a villan from the Archie Sonic comics (bet you can't guess which one)), and the second will feature a certain hot-headed hedgehog character of mine versus a villainess that was introduced in the previous fic.

And before anyone asks, the echidna talking to Young Knuckles in the vision was Locke, Knuckles' father from the Archie Sonic comics. I used him because, while this story takes place within the Sega Sonic (game) continuity, I will be using and, at certain points, modifying characters from the Archie Sonic continuity and the Sonic Underground continuity (You'll see why I chose the SU continuity a little later on) for the purpose of easily establishing the plot.

To be honest, I never actually read any of the Archie Sonic comics, so my knowledge of it is very limited. I only know of it through Wikipedia (so just know that all the info I get off of it will not be entirely accurate). I will try to stay as true to the Archie characters personalities as I can, but I ain't making any promises.

Until next chapter, later days.


	3. Never a Dull Moment

**Matt: I have no excuse for how late this is. I have been extremely lazy, and am ashamed of it. I really am trying, so please bear with me.**

**I originally said that this chapter would contain 2 fight scenes, but considering how long it's taking me to make each chapter, I decided to split this chapter into two parts.**

**Disclaimer: Sonic and any other related character, location or theme belongs to Sega and Sonic Team. This chapter's villan belongs to me (sort of, you'll see what I mean after reading).**

**Matt: Just to let you all know, there will be no after word in this part, nor will there be a foreword in the next part. Now, on with the show!**

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Chapter 3-A: Never a Dull Moment: Part 1  
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"Human children…" said Sonic absentmindedly as he walked through the park. "How could Eggman sink so low as to capture human children?"

Sonic was so sick at the very thought of Eggman doing this that he just didn't want to run. He just strolled along the path to the exit, keeping to himself, but he kept thinking of those poor children. Humans are pretty much helpless when they are just kids, and Sonic just couldn't see anyone, not even Eggman doing something like that, it was just inhuman.

Sonic tried to put it out of his head, the robots were all gone, the children and small animals were safe and sound and headed back home, but something still bothered him.

"This all seems a bit too fishy. First there was the overrun of Badniks that Eggman doesn't even make anymore, and then there was that weird, misshapen version of Eggman's logo on that control tank, and finally there was the fact that Eggman would never go so far as to capture and imprison defenseless kids. Someone is trying to blame Eggman for crimes he didn't commit. The question is 'who'?"

It wasn't until after Sonic said this that he heard a faint whistling sound. He looked around, trying to ascertain the origin of said noise, when he saw something coming right at him. Sonic jumped to the side to avoid it, causing whatever it was to crash into a nearby vending machine and explode, sending candy and cans of Chaos Cola (try saying that 5 times fast) everywhere. Sonic looked around, trying to find his attacker, when he saw it.

It was bigger than anything he had seen before. A giant floating warship, reminiscent of the Egg Carrier with some small alterations in design, was up in the sky over the park. On the side of the ship was the same disfigured logo that was on the tank, so Sonic put 2 & 2 together, and realized that the Eggman impersonator must have been on board (brilliant deduction Sherlock…).

Sonic grabbed a can of Chaos Cola that had rolled by his feet, drank its contents to restore his CP, and got ready for the fight of his life as he watched a bay door open and drop something out of it. It was a large Egg Mech, the appearance of which was that of a giant Egg Pawn, with large pincer-like arms and 4 blade-like legs. It fell and landed in front of Sonic, blocking the exit. In the cockpit, clear as day, was none other than…..Eggman?

No, he looked a lot like Eggman, and even wore the same outfit, but there was something different about him. He was much fatter, yet more muscular than Eggman was, his head was also shaped differently, his eyes were optic devices, his ears were robotic sound receptors, a mechanical visor connected to each receptor, and his left arm was mechanical. Think Sat AM Robotnik wearing the Adventure era Eggman's outfit.

"Alright, pal," said Sonic, "you're not fooling anyone anymore! Who are you, and why are you impersonating Eggman?!"

The man just sat there and chuckled to himself evilly.

"Am I talking to myself? I asked you a question, so you had better answer it!"

"I am Eggman," he said, "yet I am not. I am his corruption personified; Dark Robotnik."

"Are you joking? I know Eggman; he may want to conquer the world, but he, at least, has the decency to not capture defenseless children!"

And with that, Sonic was off. He began by running up one of the large robots' legs and attacked the main body with a series of mid-air punches and kicks. This did no damage to the machine, so Sonic tried attacking the arms with a Sonic Wind attack, but once again, nothing. Sonic threw everything he had at him, but every single one of his attacks did nothing.

"Damn," cursed Sonic as he landed from his attack, "This is one tough robot. But even the strongest of metal has its weakness, and I will find it!" Before Sonic got his chance to find the weakness, however, the large robot began to charge a laser and shot it at him. Sonic was able to avoid being hit by the laser, but the explosion from it hitting the ground blew him back several feet.

Sonic went flying through the air, smashing through a wall into the Mirror Castle. When he finally came to a stop, he sat up and shook his head to regain his senses.

"Okay, this is getting annoying! I've got to beat this guy before he gets a hold of anyone else, but what can I do? That armor on his mech is, more or less, indestructible, and one hit from that laser is more than enough to incinerate me…"

Sonic looked around and tried to find SOMETHING that would give him the edge. That was when he noticed an Omochao near him, and got an idea. "If I can reach that Omochao, I could have it use it's scanners to tell me the weak point!" Sonic then ducked under another laser blast, which hit and annihilated a nearby food stand. "…And I had better do it quickly."

Sonic got back up and dashed as fast as his legs could carry him. He snatched up the Omochao and got at a safe distance. He wound the key on its back and placed it back on the ground when they were at a safe distance. The Omochao activated and hovered in the air in front of Sonic.

"Hello," it said, "I am Omochao. How may I be of assistance?"

"See that large crab-like robot back there?" asked Sonic, pointing over to the mech that Dark Robotnik was riding. "I need you to scan for its weakness."

Omochao nodded and flew high up in the air. It made sure to get close enough to the robot to scan it, but made sure that Dark Robotnik didn't see him. While Omochao scanned the mech, Sonic played interference by launching multiple Sonic Wind attacks and bashing the mech several times in the joints, although these attacks did nothing.

Sonic quickly ducked behind some rubble nearby after managing to successfully knock the mech temporarily off-balance. While the mech rebalanced itself, Omochao returned with the results of its scan.

"The Mech is using nano-robotics to repair any damage dealt to it almost instantly." said Omochao. "It is, however, unable to withstand extreme heat or cold."

"Extreme heat or cold," Sonic asked, "where am I supposed to get..." Just then, Sonic noticed he was standing right next to an Item Capsule that had an Ice Barrier.

Sonic mentally slapped himself for not seeing the item box earlier as he opened it. The moment he did, he felt a strange chill around him, and a silver-blue, sparkling barrier surrounded his body.

"Whoa," said Sonic as the barrier formed around him, "neat barrier, what's it do?"

"With this barrier," began Omochao, "your attacks will be altered to give ice-based damage, and your Homing Attack and Spin Attack will be surrounded in large ice spikes."

Sonic ran back out to the battlefield, with Omochao following closely behind, and got right behind Dark Robotnik

"Yo, Ro-butt-nik!" he called, "It's time you and me end this!" Dark Robotnik turned around and gazed at Sonic with pure malice and hatred. Without even so much as a word, the mech swung its large cannon claw at Sonic and shot its laser blast. Sonic jumped over the claw and rolled to avoid the laser, then jumped and preformed a homing attack on the right claw. Sonic's barrier formed large spikes of ice on it as he shot forward, and the spikes impaled the arm, causing major damage and freezing the arm solid.

As soon as Sonic landed back on the ground, he immediately charged forward again and bashed the front-left leg of the mech, freezing it solid. He then continued by going for the other legs, making sure not to give Dark Robotnik a chance to counter. Soon the entire mech, minus the head/cockpit, was frozen in a solid chunk of ice.

"One more blow," stated Sonic, "and this imposter is going bye-bye!" Sonic held up a golden ring and gripped it tightly in his hands. Beams of light escaped through his fingers as the energy of the ring boosted Sonic's power.

Without any hesitation, Sonic spun himself in midair, charging his body with every last ounce of Chaos Energy he had. When he felt as though he couldn't charge up any more, he unleashed his most powerful Spin Attack ever. He went faster and faster, pushing himself as hard as he could: He was determined to stop this Eggman Imposter at all costs.

The impact was fast and hard. In fact, Sonic was going so fast when the attack that he actually passed straight through the mech itself. He landed a few feet away from the mech, stood up, and snapped his fingers. Almost as if on cue, the mech exploded in a fiery inferno, leaving no trace of it left.

It wasn't until after all of this that Sonic realized what he did.

"HOLY SHIT I THINK I JUST KILLED HIM!!!" Sonic yelled in realization. He tried to run forward to make sure that Dark Robotnik was still alive, but fell flat on his face from exhaustion. Sonic looked up at the raging inferno that was once an evil mech, fearing the worst. The man may have been trying to give Eggman worse of a reputation than he already had, but he was still human.

Or so he thought...

"Sonic!" cried Omochao, "Look out!!!"

Sonic looked towards the flame and saw a mechanical claw shoot out. It gripped him around his neck, raising him up in the air so that his feet dangled above the ground. Sonic tried his hardest to break the grip, but could not budge an inch. As he struggled, the figure of Dark Robotnik walked through the flames.

"Y-you thou-tho-thought you could b-b-beat me so easil-il-il-ily?" said Dark Robotnik in a strange broken tone, "I-I-I am much stro-o-o-onger than y-you feeble o-or-organics..."

Dark Robotnik emerged from the flames, and Sonic gasped when he saw what he did (or, at least, he would have if it were not for the fact that he was being choked). The 'skin' had been entirely ripped off the right side of his face, revealing that Dark Robotnik was nothing more than a machine (in a Terminator-esque style). He approached the suspended Sonic and raised his left arm. The hand that held Sonic pulled him over to the mechanical monster. The hand reattached, and Dark Robotnik began to tighten his grip on the hedgehog's neck, choking him even more.

"This I-is the end f-o-or you, He-edg-geho-o-o-og-g..."

All of a sudden, a beam of light penetrated through Dark Robotnik's chest. He let out a mechanized scream as the light went through his body. Slowly his body began to disintegrate until nothing was left.

Sonic dropped to the ground as the hand that held him dissipated. He hit the ground, and desperately gasped for air. He wasn't sure of what happened, but he was very grateful for it regardless.

Sonic tried to stand up, but had become so weakened by this battle that he lost his balance and fell over on the ground. He tried to stand again, with a little help from Omochao, but couldn't get back up.

"Damn!" cursed Sonic, "There is no way I'm going to get back in time like this..."

"Really, Sonic," came an unknown, yet familiar voice, "is that any way to talk? I thought you were stronger than this..."

Sonic looked up at the source of the voice, and was surprised to see...

"Eggman?"

Indeed, it was none other than Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik, in the flesh. He walked up to Sonic, and took out a small vile with a glowing white liquid in it.

"Here," he said as he handed the vile to Sonic, "drink this."

Sonic managed to get himself into an upright sitting position and took the vile. He looked at it for a minute, and then gave Eggman a questioning look.

"Don't worry," he assured him, "It's not poison; it's an experimental healing serum I developed in my spare time. I may want to defeat you, but I never strike an opponent when their down."

Sonic, slightly reassured from hearing this, opened the vile and drank the thick liquid inside in one gulp. As soon as he did, his body healed almost instantly. Sonic stood up and stretched a bit, then looked at Eggman with a bit of confusion.

"Why did you help me?" asked Sonic, "You could have easily let that machine destroy me."

"Heh, you'd think I'd let some second-rate copy of myself destroy you before I do? But in any case, we have ourselves a situation, as well as a common foe. I'll explain on the way to the base..."

At this point, you could almost HEAR Sonic's patience snap...

"Whoa, hold up there Eggman, the only place I'm going is home! I have something important to take care of today, and I can't skip out on it to go on another crazy adventure to save the world from a threat, of which YOU most likely caused!!!"

Eggman just stood there, his jaw dropped, not even believing what he was hearing.

"What in heavens name has gotten into you?!" he said, "What could possibly be more important than the security of the planet?!"

"Well SOOOORRY!" said Sonic in an irritated tone, "I've been up for the past 25 hours straight, I think I'm entitled to be at least a little bit irritated! And besides..."

Sonic hesitated for a bit. He turned to the exit and began to walk out of the park, but stopped just before the gate. He gave Eggman a quick glance over his shoulder.

"...my family is coming to visit me today..."  
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_**Continued in Part 2...**_


	4. Never a Dull Moment Part 2

**Continued from previous chapter...**** (Disclaimer at the bottom)**

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Chapter 4: Never a Dull Moment Part 2  
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Meanwhile, not too far from Twinkle Park, we join two seemingly ordinary Mobians, getting ready for a day of work.

The first was a female grey cat with reddish-orange eyes. She wore a dark yellow t-shirt, blue jean overalls, a pair of brown boots, and a backwards yellow baseball cap. Her name was Katherine; or Kat for short. The second was a gruff-looking male hedgehog. His name is Samuel, but everyone calls him Slam (if you want to know what he looks like, check out his profile picture on my page.)

As they walked down the street, Slam gave out a big yawn. "My God," he said in his gruff Bronx accent, "If it weren't for the fact that I only work 'till noon, I'd never let ya talk me inta getting up so freakin' early in the morning..."

Kat looked back at the grumpy hedgehog and just smiled. "You should be glad that we live in the same apartment," she said in a playful sarcastic tone, "or else you'd never get to work on time."

The two play-fought like that for the next couple of blocks until they reached a small shop near Speed Highway; There was a small sign over the door that said 'Kat's Custom Items, indicating that the store belonged to the cat girl. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, with Slam following closely behind. The store's front room wasn't very large, but it was big enough for at least 25 people to fit in comfortably. There were a couple of displays featuring different machine parts and equipment, and a door that led to the back room.

"Alright," said Kat, "the first thing we need to do before opening up is check the Chaos Ore supply, as well as take inventory on parts and supplies."

"Gotcha, Boss!" said Slam as he took out a clip board and a checklist and headed into the back room.

The back room was where all the work was done, as well as where all the parts and other things were stored until they were needed, so it was much bigger than the front room was. When entering, the first thing you would see would be a large safe in the very back of the room. To the left of it was a large shelving unit that held several boxes filled with the different parts used in Item Customization. To the left of that, along the left wall, were workbenches and several power tools, along with a door that led to a garage. Along the right wall were some generic looking machines, and they hooked up to a strange pod-like machine in the center of the room.

Slam climbed up a ladder next to the shelves and began to inspect each of the parts that were on the shelves. As he went along, he wrote a few things down on to his checklist. It took him about a half an hour, but he finally finished taking inventory on everything except the contents of the safe, and just in time, as Kat had just entered the room.

"So," she said, "what's the damage? I've gotta open up shop in a half-hour."

"Well," Slam began, "we're out of Antigravs and the Light Chips and Bounce Bands are gettin' a little low, but other then that, it ain't so bad."

"...What about the Chaos Ore?"

"I was just getting to that."

Slam walked over to the large safe, which was easily 3 times his size. There was a small keypad on the door that had a small screen above it. Slam took of his left glove and began typing in a code, and then proceeded to place his exposed thumb on the screen. A bar of light ran across his thumb, and then the screen flashed green. Slam slipped his glove back on as a large unlocking sound was heard from the safe. He opened the door and took a look inside...

There was nothing. Not a single sign of anything was in that safe. Slam went further in and gave the area a good once-over. There were several drawers that lined the walls that he pulled out to check for any sign of Chaos Ore, but all he could find was a small, multicolored crystal.

He exited the safe, closed and locked it up, and then turned to Kat.

"Well," she asked, "what's the damage?"

Slam held out his hand and showed her the small crystal he found.

"The only thing I could find was this here piece of ore."

Kat took the ore from slam and gave it a quick once over.

"This is Rainbow Ore; I didn't think we had any."

"Rainbow Ore?"

"Yes. As you know, Chaos Ore is a crystalline substance that is formed when Chaos Energy is solidified. There are seven well known varieties of ore, each of which is an essential ingredient in any Item Customization. However, there is a rare eighth type, known as Rainbow Ore, which can be used for any type of customization. It's also much more powerful than a normal crystal of ore."

"So then this piece should last a little while, right?"

"No it's too small. We'll need to head to the mine to purchase some more: Which reminds me..."

Kat went over to an out-of-the-way area and rolled out a large crate that had the word 'Fragile' painted on the side.

"I need you to carefully deliver this to the workshop out in the Mystic Ruins, after which I want you to stop by the mines and buy some more ore."

Slam gave a playful salute. "Yes, boss."

"...And this time, take the truck." Kat pointed to an open door in the back that had a large truck parked outside.

"No can do, boss. Remember what happened last time? I'm STILL on probation."

Kat thought for a moment and recalled the incident that Slam mentioned, of which I shall not explain for the fact that it is quite gruesome. She shuddered at the mere thought of what happened.

"Ugh, I forgot... Okay then, take the train."

Slam went over to the crate and, without so much as even a strain, lifted it and held it over his head. He left out the back way as Kat headed back into the front area. She went up to a hanging sign on the entrance and switched it from 'Closed' to 'Open' just as Slam walked by with the crate. Kat then went to a seat behind the counter, picked up a newspaper, sat down and began to read

No more than a few minutes passed at the store before the little bell over the door rang as someone walked in. Kat put down the paper that she was reading and looked at the person who just walked in.

It was a female Mobian. She stood about 4 feet tall, had a curvy figure, and wore a dark green sweater, faded blue jeans, a pair of dark green steel-toed boots, and purple, crystalline bracelets on her wrists. She also wore a brown cloak with a hood that she kept up, and had a brown scarf that covered her face. The only features of her face that could be seen were her beautiful golden eyes. Kat immediately got up and went to go greet the young woman.

"Welcome!" she said in an almost forced happy tone, "Yes, welcome to Katharine's Item Customization Store; where we turn your junky, old items into powerful tools. How may I help you this fine day?"

The young woman seemed almost hesitant at first, but managed to straighten up.

"...I...I'm searching for someone who goes by the name of 'Samuel the Hedgehog', and I heard that he works here. Is he here, as it is of great importance that I speak with him...?"

"Heh, I haven't heard anyone use Slam's real name since I first met him years ago. Are you an old friend of his or something?"

"N-no, we've... never met before..."

"Oh, well then no, he isn't here. He is out making a delivery right now, but he didn't leave all to long ago, so you could probably still catch up to him before he reaches the station..."

Just then, a large explosion could be heard from outside, the force of which was so great that the ground underneath the two shook.

"W-whoa, what on earth?!" said Kat as she tried to keep her balance.

"It must be Black Rose and her forces attacking! I knew that I didn't have much time, but I didn't think that it would be this soon!" the lady said.

"Black who? I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about..."

"I'll explain later," she said as she grabbed Kat's arm, "we need to find Slam; his life is in grave danger."

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Slam stumbled as the ground under his feet shook from another explosion. He lost his balance, and the crate he carried was flung up in the air as he landed on his behind. Not missing a beat, however, Slam got right back up and quickly caught the crate before it hit the ground.

Slam let off a sigh and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. "That was too close for comfort," he said as he carefully put the crate on the ground, "but what the heck is going on...?"

All of a sudden, a strange sound seemed to fill the air; one that sort of sounded like electricity building up. Slam turned around just in time to see a huge ball of energy quickly fly towards him. He grabbed the crate and dashed to the side to avoid it, but the blast from it knocked him off his feet, and caused him to throw the crate up in the air, which then landed on his foot.

A sickening crack could be heard as Slam's ankle was crushed under the weight of the crate. He screamed in absolute agony as he felt his foot being crushed under its weight. After a bit of fighting, he managed to get his foot free, and tried to stand up. But the damage to his foot was so great that he couldn't support his weight and fell.

"Damn it!" Slam cursed. He tried to stand again, but to no avail.

"My goodness," said a mysterious female voice, "You have quite the little language problem, don't you?"

"What, who said that!"

"Why, I did, of course."

Slam looked up to see a strange cloaked figure hovering just before him. The cloak that she wore was a dark purple color that had a golden trim around the sleeves and bottom. The hood of the cloak was up, so you couldn't see her face.

"So you are the fabled 'Chosen of Thunder', are you?" she said in a voice that was both sinister, yet seductive at the same time. "I'm not impressed..."

Slam just looked at her with a blank expression of his face.

"...So you really don't know of your destiny yet, do you?" she said, "Then that means that your powers have not yet awakened either..."

"What the HELL are you talking about, lady?" Slam blurted out, "Just who the hell do ya think you are talking to me like that!"

The mystery woman laughed under her breath. "I see no need to give my name to someone who is about to be killed, but I suppose that I am in a generous mood, so I will honor your last request. You may call me Black Rose..."

"Black Rose, eh? I suppose it comes from the saying 'Every rose has its thorn'?"

"I suppose, but enough of this witty banter, it's time to meet your maker!" Black Rose threw her arms out to the side, and a sword came shooting out of the sleeves of her cloak. She held them at the ready and began charging them with energy.

Slam knew what was coming next, and tried his hardest to move out of the way, but thanks to his injured foot he could only helplessly crawl on the ground. Black Rose drew back one of her swords and swung it forward, launching a crescent-shaped beam of Anti-matter straight for him. Slam just stared in horror as the Anti-matter beam got closer and closer. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the blast.

A few moments passed, but nothing happened.

Is it over, thought Slam; he was too scared to open his eyes, am I dead?

Slam muscled up his courage and slowly opened his eyes. He was blinded by the sun for a small moment, but his vision soon cleared up, and he was amazed at what he saw: Standing in front of him was a young woman wearing a brown cloak, and they were both being shielded from the blast by a silver barrier.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Umm, yeah..." said a very confused Slam, "...but who're you, and why did ya help me?"

"My name is Crystal, but that is all I can tell you for the moment..."

Crystal reached into a large bag that she had and pulled out a large yellow gem. Slam recognized it almost immediately...

"Wow! Is that a Chaos Emerald, where did you get it?!"

"It is not a real Chaos Emerald, but its power should suffice for now."

Crystal held the Emerald near Slam and closed her eyes. The gem began to glow as sparks of energy began to shoot out of it and enter Slam's body. A strange sensation seemed to overwhelm him as he felt his body become re-energized and restored. His foot had also healed somehow, allowing him to finally get up off the ground.

"Wow..." said Slam, who was struck with awe, "...I feel a strange power coursing through me, what is this?"

"Your inner element has been awakened; your destiny now awaits you..." answered Crystal.

All of a sudden, there was a loud cracking noise. Slam and Crystal looked up to see that the barrier that surrounded them was beginning to give way to the constant barrage of attacks from Black Rose.

"Oh no," worried Crystal, "my barrier is beginning to wear down. We need to move, or we will be destroyed!"

"Before we do, I gotta question for ya: Will this inner element you talked about give me some extra power?"

"Yes, it will..."

A smile broke out on Slam's face, and light chuckle was heard.

"Then I'm gonna show Little Miss Sword Beam out there what pain really is!"

Crystal was a bit shocked at hearing this. "B-but there is no way you will have the strength to face her on your own!"

"Look, I ain't done anything to her, and yet she wants to kill me. That makes me mad, and NOBODY makes me mad and gets away with it!"

Before Crystal had a chance to protest, Slam leaped out of the barrier, dissipating both it and the energy blast against it, and dashed towards the villainous female. Black Rose shot several more beams at Slam, but he quickly dodged them. When he got close enough, Slam jumped in the air at the hovering she-demon and swung a mighty blow at her. Black Rose held up her swords in defense and blocked Slam's punch, but the force of said attack was just enough to throw her off balance, forcing her to land.

As soon as Slam landed, he ran back into the fray, and started unloading a barrage of punches. Black rose skillfully dodged every single punch, and did a horizontal slash at Slam. He quickly ducked under the blade, and then used an upward bicycle kick, knocking her off-balance again. He then grabbed her by the robes and did an over-the-shoulder throw, and tossed her out into the middle of a nearby intersection, removing her robes in the process ...revealing that she was, in fact, an echidna.

Her fur was a dark magenta color, and had darker-colored, uneven stripes on each of her dreadlocks. Her eyes were colored neon green, and were snake-like in appearance. She wore a silver, body-fitting armor, a couple of golden clasps on her front-most dreadlocks, and a golden tiara on her head. The tiara had a large, golden horn connected to it that went up and back the entire length of her head, and in the center of the tiara was a strange, purple-colored gem that seemed to radiate with energy.

Slam just stood there, awestruck and dumbfounded, trying to put 2 + 2 together.

_An echidna,_ thought Slam, _but I thought that they were extinct... well, except for that Knuckles guy that I've been hearing about. But wait a second, if there are two echidnas, then there is bound to be more. But if not, then..._

"**Aw, SHIT!"** Slam exclaimed, **"I'VE BEEN BEATING UP AN ENDANGERED SPECIES!!!!"**

While Slam was just standing there, cursing at what he believed was a mistake, Black Rose got back to her feet, and she was angry...

"You little BASTARD," she cursed with much malice in her voice, "the only 'endangered species' that I see here, IS YOU!!!!"

Black Rose charged straight at Slam with both swords blazing; ready to slice his head clean off. At the last minute, Slam finally paid just enough attention to realize that he was about to be decapitated and raised his arms in defense.

At that exact moment, time seemed to slow down all around him. He could see the evil Black Rose right in front of him, ready to waste him. In this brief moment, Slam felt something inside of him beginning to well up. It was a strange, tingly feeling that seemed to energize him; make him stronger, as it were.

In a near blink of an eye, there was a loud, thundering noise and a bright flash, and Black Rose was sent flying, head first, into a nearby lamp post. Slam just stood there for a few minutes until he realized that he was still alive. He opened a single eye and gave a quick check around, and noticed that his fists were crackling with energy.

"What in the..." said a, once again, confused Slam as he examined his fists. They crackled with electricity for a few moments before they finally went back to normal. Slam stood there and thought for a few moments, before being tackled to the ground by a certain cat girl.

"SLAAAAAM!!!" exclaimed a very worried Kat, whom proceeded to squeeze Slam in one of her patented hugs of death, "I was so worried; I thought you were going to die!"

"...I just might..." wheezed Slam in between gasps, "...If you... don't let... me go..."

"Oops, sorry..." She said as she let go of him.

Slam sat up and looked over to where Black Rose had landed.

She lay down under the lamp post that her head impacted, which had left a sizeable dent in the shape of her head in it. She had those anime-dizzy-swirls in front of her eyes, signifying that she had been knocked for quite a loop.

Slam, Crystal and Kat all cautiously approached the stupefied Black Rose, surrounding her against the lamp post she was laying against. It didn't take long for her to regain her senses, and noticed that she was surrounded.

Crystal held her hand out, and a spear made of solid ice formed in her hand, which she held right in front of Black Rose's face.

"This is it, Black Rose," said Crystal in a confident voice, "after over 300 years of fighting, your evil campaign ends here, and now!"

"You honestly think that you've defeated me, Guardian of Ice?" said Black Rose in a mocking tone, "For centuries the echidna tribes have tried to eliminate me. What makes you think that you will succeed where the rest of your kind have failed?"

"Hey, lady," said Slam as he pulled an Uzi Pistol from his backpack and pointed it at Black Rose's head, "In case ya haven't noticed, you got a gun AND a spear aimed at your friggin' head; I think that this is game over for you..."

Before anyone could say anything else, a loud scream, followed by a flash of light, could be seen and heard off in the distance. Both Slam and Crystal were distracted long enough for Black Rose to make her move. She held out her hand and fired a large blast of anti-matter at Crystal, who took the full force of the blow and was blasted backwards into the middle of the street.

"CRYSTAL!!!" exclaimed both Kat and Slam as they quickly ran to her side to make sure that she was ok. Slam quickly checked for a pulse, and was relieved to find that she was still alive; she was just knocked unconsious.

While Slam and Kat were busy seeing to their new friend, Black Rose took the opportunity to attempt an escape. She quickly teleported over to where her robes lay and put them back on…

"It seems as though my collegue was unsucceessful in his attempt to destroy the Chosen of Light…" she mused to herself, "…and the corruption in this area is too week to let me fight at my full power." She then turned to where our heroes stood.

"My apologies for leaving on such short notice, but I have business to attend to elsewhere. But just so that you won't feel lonely while I'm gone, I've taken the liberty of asking some of my _friends_ to keep you company."

Black Rose held up her hands and formed a large sphere of anti-matter in her hands. She then let the dark sphere fall to the ground and spread out over a wide area underneath her. Once the energy finished spreading, globs of it began to rise up and form into a humanoid shape.

Their bodies were child-like in appearance, and their heads were completely round. Their bodies were completely black, almost like a shadow, and they had glowing red eyes.

"Now, my Shadow Demons," said Black Rose, "kill these fools and corrupt their remains; they shall make a powerful addition to my army…" And with that said, she dissapeared into thin air…

"Crud," cursed Slam, "There ain't no way we can take them on in our condition. We gotta retreat!"

Slam quickly picked up Crystal, and then he and Kat quickly ran away, with the Shadow Demons following them close behind…

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**Matt: Well, that ends this chapter, and it's my longest one yet; at almost 10 Microsoft Word pages long! Sorry this took so long to make, but I'm starting to get back into writing again, so expect another update soon (I hope...).**

**Remember when I said that I would be fusing this and the previous chapter together? I've decided to not do that...**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, Knuckles, or any other theme related to the Sonic Series; those belong to Sega. I own Slam, Kat, Crystal, Black Rose, the Shadow Demons, the term "Chaos Ore", and anything else that I may have forgotten to mention that Sega doesn't own...**_

**Next Chapter: We return to Angel Island to check up on Knuckles and Tikal, both of which will have their hands full of trouble. And Rouge the Bat makes her first appearance in the story as well. What trouble will the bat's arrival cause? Find out next time...**


	5. A Hidden Palace and a Frosty Fight

**Slam422: Okay then, let's get started with Chapter 5!**

**Matt: HOLD UP!!! Why are you doing the intro, I usually do it!**

**Slam422: Does it really matter WHO does it as long as it gets done? Besides, I never get to do it!**

**Matt: Umm... Actually, you do it every time as well. We are, after all, the same person...**

**Slam422: Will you NOT start using plot holes to your advantage! Besides, you're the Author Character; I don't even have a visual representation...**

**Matt: Alright, alright! You can intro this chapter; just do it so we can get on with the story...**

**Slam422: Alright then **_**(turns toward the screen and clears throat).**_** Before we get started, I just want to point out a few things. First, the disclaimer will, from now on, be at the bottom of the chapter, rather than the top. This will allow me to more easily credit characters and themes. Second, remember how I said that I'm going to go back and fuse chapters 3-A and 3-B together? Well, I've decided not to do that. Instead, I will change chapter 3-B into Chapter 4. Finally, I'm dropping the Video Game themes in this story, as it's not necessary, but I WON'T go back and remove any of the themes that I've already put in, as I have some ideas for later chapters. Now let's get this show on the road!**

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Chapter 5: A Hidden Palace and a Frosty Fight  
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In the dark depths of Angel Island, there is an area known as the Lava Reef, which is a dangerous place, indeed. Only those who are either brave or foolish ever dare to enter the natural catacombs under the isle. The many traps left by the ancient echidnas, not to mention all of the sill active badniks from Eggman's first attack on the island long ago (as well as all of the red-hot magma in the Lava Reef) make these caves nearly impossible to navigate to the incautious.

This didn't stop Knuckles, however, as he was on a search for answers. He needed to know what happened to his people, and he knew that the answer lied somewhere within the hallowed halls of the Hidden Palace.

Knuckles quickly jumped and glided to avoid a crumbling pathway, and landed near a large pool of lava. He punched down a large stalagmite nearby that fell across its entire length and continued across unhindered.

Not too much farther down, there was a small cavern that had several active Toxomister badniks (basically just a tall, thin spray can with a single eye on top). Knuckles easily dispatched the first few of them without any problems, but he accidentally ran into cloud of toxic mist that one of the robots on the ceiling sprayed.

Knux coughed hard as the mist clung to him, slowing him down to a near crawl and making all the rings he had collected to that point diminish. The worst part was that the mist was making him unable to jump so he could attack the Badnik. Thinking quickly, Knuckles grabbed a stone and, with great skill and accuracy, tossed it at the Toxomister. It hit the Badnik square in its eye, causing it to go poof (as all of Eggman's old badniks did for some reason...). Knux then did the same thing with all of the other Toxomisters in front of him until he was finally out of the cavern.

Knuckles coughed a bit, trying to get the lingering taste of the toxic mist out of his mouth as he approached a large gate that led to the upper area of the Lava Reef. He needed to find the switch that opened the large gate in front of him, which was very easy as it was right above the door itself. He grabbed a nearby stone, one that was about the size of his fist, and hurled it straight at the large button. It hit the switch dead on, and the gate opened, revealing a long stairway.

Knuckles stood before the long stairwell, ready to gain the answers he searched for. Just as he stepped over the threshold, however, the same pain Knuckles felt before shot through his mind again. Knux once again gripped his head in pain. Just as he was about to pass out again, a phrase formed into his mind...

..._The Power of the Master_...  
----------------------

Angel Island is often a serene paradise, often quiet and peaceful. No one ever sets foot on the island if they don't have to, and anyone who does quickly leaves without ever disturbing the serenity. Yes, it was nice and quiet almost always... and Tikal was as bored as hell...

"What is taking Knuckles so long?" Tikal sighed, "It's so quiet here, and there is nothing to do!"

She lay down on her back in front of the Emerald.

"Even the inside of the Master Emerald is more fun than this. I wish something, ANYTHING would happen!"

Tikal soon got her wish as she heard an explosion out in the distance. She quickly shot up and looked in the direction the sound came. Several quick flashes shone off in the distance, each of which was followed by the sound of an explosion.

"What is that...?"  
----------------------

Up in the skies over Angel Island, Rouge was skillfully dodging attacks from an unknown enemy that she had never seen before.

They were like bees, but much larger. Their bodies were made up of three spherical sections. The head section had a large, glowing red eye and 2 antennas, the torso section had 2 arm-like appendages, each of which had a red metallic gauntlet with a large silver spike in place of each hand, and its abdomen had wing-like appendages sticking out of either side of it and a large silver stinger on the very end.

One of the strange bugs pointed its stinger at Rouge and launched it like a missile (after which another stinger replaced it). The stinger flew fast, and Rouge was only able to just barely dodge it. She then launched a Black Wave attack at the bug, and hit it dead on. However, the attack seemed to have no effect against it. A couple more of the bugs launched a barrage of stingers at Rouge. Rouge tried her hardest to avoid all of the stingers, but a few of them managed to graze her skin.

_This is ridiculous,_ thought Rouge, _my attacks aren't doing anything against them, and I can't take anymore direct hits! My only chance is to get to Angel Island and take cover in the jungle._

Rouge quickly turned towards Angel Island and began to fly towards the jungle area near the Master Emerald. The bugs noticed this and started flying after her. One of them pointed one of its silver spike hands at Rouge and charged energy into it. Once the energy was fully charged, it released a large sphere of fire. It chased down Rouge and slammed into her back, engulfing her in an explosion of flame that scorched her wings and knocked her unconscious, causing her to fall straight down into the jungle.  
----------------------

Tikal watched in horror as the young woman she saw fighting was engulfed in flames and fell straight towards the jungle.

"I need to help her!" Tikal exclaimed as she ran from the shrine towards the jungle.  
----------------------

Rouge was in a world of pain; her wings were too badly burned to fly, and she could hardly move from the injuries she has sustained. Blood dripped from her right arm, which she could not move from the pain, and her leg felt like they broke from the fall. She was, to put it simply, completely messed up.

She reached out ahead of her with her good arm and tried to pull herself forward. Rouge knew that she needed to get to shelter fast, before those strange bugs found her again. As she dragged herself forward, however, something caught her eye. There was a faint, light blue glow coming from the base of a tree a ways ahead of her. She mustered the rest of her strength to pull herself towards the light, and almost gasped at what she found.

"A Chaos Emerald," said Rouge in awe, "I can't believe I've found one!"

Rouge reached out and grabbed a hold of the Emerald, clutching it tightly in her grip, but something began to happen. A strange feeling overcame Rouge as the Emerald that she held began to glow brightly. She began to feel very cold, but it somehow felt comforting to her. Her wounds were somehow healing, and her eyes began to glow the same color as the Chaos Emerald.

After a few moments, the Emeralds glow began to fade, and Rouge felt much better; she was still in pain, but she was at least able to stand back up. Just then, she could hear a rustling in the bushes nearby. Thinking that it might be another one of those strange monsters, she put up her defense and prepared for whatever may happen. She slowly approached the bushes, and prepared to jump whatever was behind them.

Rouge took her opportunity and leapt at her attacker. She shot through the bushes and tackled what was on the other side. Unfortunately, there was also a steep incline right behind them, and they both went rolling down the hill, clinging to each other for dear life. After a few moments, they finally reached the bottom and went flying out into a clearing.

Rouge got up slowly, now in pain from the fall, and turned towards what she tackled. She almost gasped in shock to find that it was Tikal.

"Tikal!" Rouge exclaimed worriedly as she quickly went over to the echidna spirit, "Are you alright?"

"Did someone get the number of that bus that hit me?" asked a thrown-for-a-loop Tikal. She quickly shook her head to regain her senses and looked up at the bat.

"...Um, who are you?" asked Tikal as she sat up.

"My name is Rouge, I'm a friend of Knuckles'. I came here to visit him, but I was attacked by these huge bug monsters and..."

"Wait a minute, were these bug monsters big, black, have spikes for hands, and have a large stinger on their behind?"

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact. But, how did you..."

Tikal only merely pointed behind Rouge, and that was all the warning she needed. She quickly turned around just in time to see one of those bug monsters flying straight at her, ready to turn her into bat shish kabob. She had almost no time to get out of the way, so she put up her arms in defense, looked away, and got ready to take the blow.

At this moment, a strange, ice cold sensation swept across Rouge's arms. They had quickly frozen solid, and sharp ice shards shot out of them at the monster. Every part of the creature that was hit by one of the shards was frozen solid. Soon, its entire body was frozen solid as it fell to the ground.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye...

Rouge slowly turned her head to see what had happened. When she saw that monster frozen on the ground, she almost had a heart attack. Then she noticed her arms, which were coated in ice. The strange thing about it was that she was still able to move them as if they weren't frozen, and she didn't feel cold from it.

"What in the name of Chaos just happened?" asked Tikal, who was just as confused as Rouge.

"I have absolutely no idea," Rouge said, with an almost disgusted voice. She clenched her fists tight, causing the ice on them to shatter and fall off. "...but I hope that it never happens again: I hate ice..."

Tikal was a bit confused in the fact that Rouge sounded almost ungrateful for the quick save given by her newly-found ability, but she figured that Rouge had her reasons.

"Well, regardless of whether you want to or not, WHERE did you get those ice powers?"

Rouge thought about it for a moment. She knew that she had never had them before, and she knew that she never WANTED them before, as well; so why did she get them all of a sudden. That was when she realized it...

"The Chaos Emerald," said Rouge as she pulled the Cyan Emerald out of her hammerspace, "I found it when I crashed on the island. When I picked it up, it healed some of my wounds, and sent a strange sensation throughout my body. Maybe this is what gave me this power."

Before Tikal could answer, another loud buzzing noise could be heard off in the distance. Rouge and Tikal looked up to see a huge swarm of those monster bugs heading their way, and they weren't alone.

A group of them had ropes attached to their bodies, which were all connected to another, much larger creature. It was mechanical in nature, and the body, shoulders, and forearms were armored in black metal. It didn't have legs, instead having a black cone-shaped device connected to its waist. Its head was small, silver grey, and had a glowing red visor for an eye. The center of its chest had a glass lens in it, more than likely for a laser, both of its arms had a blade-like attachment, and it had many strange grooves all over the black armor, which had a strange, red energy flowing through it.

The ropes holding the mechanical monster were released, and it fell towards the island. It landed on top of the frozen bug monster, causing shards of ice to fly everywhere as the body of the creature evaporated into a black smoke and disappeared.

Rouge was now able to see how big the mech was; the best way for this author to explain it is that it was as big as Eggman's Egg Emperor Mech. The mech looked down at Rouge, then at Tikal, and then at Rouge again. Its optic visor began to glow an angry red, and it let out a loud, mechanized roar.

"**GRAWRRRR!!!"** it roared, **"BUZZSQUITO DESTROYED, JUGGERNAUT ANGRY: I CRUSH PUNY BAT AND ECHIDNA!!!"**

"Oh, shit!" Rouge and Tikal said almost simultaneously as a large metal fist was raised and flung straight towards them. They both rolled to the side just in time to avoid the fist as it smashed into the ground, creating a huge crack in the ground.

Tikal tried her hand and fired a ball of light at the creature. The ball hit its shoulder and exploded, but no damage was dealt against it. Rouge then cast a Black Wave attack against it, but once again, no damage...

"Rouge," exclaimed Tikal, "try that Ice attack again!"

"Forget it," Rouge replied as she dodged another punch from Juggernaut, "I'm NOT using that power ever again!"

"Use your brain; our normal attacks and energy blasts aren't doing anything to this monster, yet those Ice powers you have gained were able to destroy that monster earlier, who was ALSO unaffected by your normal attacks." all while saying this, Tikal was dodging a couple of punches as well as a few energy missiles. The two quickly ducked behind a large boulder for cover.

"I have a feeling that the only way to destroy this thing is to use those Ice powers of yours. If you don't try we may BOTH be destroyed"

"**WHERE BAT AND ECHIDNA GO,"** the creature roared,** "JUGGERNAUT NOT DONE CRUSHING YOU YET?!"**

Rouge was between a rock and a hard place now, she didn't want to use her new powers (for a reason that will be disclosed later on), but if she didn't, they were both dead. It took her a few minutes, but she finally decided...

"...If I use these powers," she asked, "are you sure that they will damage that creature?"

"There is only one way to find out..." Tikal replied.

Just then, the boulder they were hiding behind was hoisted up into the air. The girls looked up in terror as the hulking figure of the mechanical beast, which referred to itself as Juggernaut, loomed over them.

"**JUGGERNAUT FIND YOU,"** it roared, **"NOW I SQUISH BAT AND ECHIDNA LIKE LITTLE BUGS!!!"**

Without even having to answer, Rouge quickly held her hand out at the monster and launched several icicles at its left arm, causing it to freeze in a large chunk of ice. The monster roared in pain as it lost its balance from the sudden weight change. It fell to the ground, and the large stone it had just picked up fell on top of it. After a few moments, Rouge got closer to make sure that the monster was gone for good, but was surprised when the monster broke from the ground and sent its fist flying at her.

Rouge quickly avoided the attack and shot another icicle at its head, but the monster ducked under it. It then tried to hit Rouge with the blade on its arm, but just barely missed, making a large gash in the ground. Rouge continued to fire icicles at the creature as it tried to crush and/or slash her, and managed to get in a few hits, but wasn't doing much damage.

The beast was getting really angry now. It held its arms out and began to focus energy into the lens in its chest.

"**I'MMA CHARGIN' MAH LAZER!!!"** the monster declared as the lens began to glow a dangerously bright red. As the laser charged, a blue crosshair sphere came out of the lens and went for Rouge. She didn't need to worry, as she could tell that the monster was trying to lock on her. She ran like crazy, trying to avoid the targeting device, but she wasn't able to get out of there fast enough.

"**I'MMA FIRIN' MAH LAZER: SHOOP DA WOOP!!!"**

The energy from the lens finally fired, releasing a humongous blast of energy at Rouge. She knew that she couldn't dodge it in time, and held up her arms in defense, wishing for a miracle...

She got her wish: All of a sudden, she vanished from the spot that she was in, the laser hitting only seconds after. The entire island shook as the entire clearing was enveloped in a huge flaming blast...

A few seconds later, Rouge reappeared, her arms still up in a defensive position, and her eyes closed tightly. She was also so scared that she was shaking like a leaf in the wind. Soon, however, she managed to gain enough of her wits back to realize that she was out of danger. As she slowly moved her arms out from in front of her face, she almost fainted as she saw the devastation caused by the creature. In front of her was a huge crater, nearly as large as the entire clearing.

Before she collapsed, however, she managed to notice that someone was standing next to her, which turned her attention away from the gaping crater in the ground...

He was a red hedgehog, whose appearance was slightly reminiscent of Shadow; however his quills were more angled than they were curved. The entire back portion of his head was black in color, but his face (minus the Shadow-esque stripe going down the top) was red. His right eye was concealed by his bangs, which were red with black ends, and his left eye was orange-yellow in color. He wore no shirt, showing that he had a black tuft of fur on his chest (combed into a near-perfect 'V' shape), but he did wear a black leather jacket (which had grey stripes on both sleeves going from the shoulder to the cuffs), a pair of black jeans, pale grey gloves with red, black-stripped, armored wristbands, and a pair of plain black sneakers.

"Stealth..." said Rouge in a half-grateful, half-WTF voice, "What are you doing here?"

Almost immediately, Stealth turned around and kneeled down so that he was face to face with Rouge, and he took her hand.

"Because," said Stealth in the most romantic voice that he could muster. He leaned down and kissed Rouge's hand, "...Every noble Knight must protect their fair princess of the night..."

Almost immediately after saying this, Stealth was left with a red handprint mark on his cheek, with rouge glaring angrily at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't date sniveling cowards?" said Rouge in a voice as cold as the Ice she had used.

"I prefer the term 'Over-achieving Pacifist'."

Stealth got back up and glared over at the Juggernaut, which was sparking a little from the leftover energy of the blast.

"...But when it comes to the safety of my friends, I always come through in the end!"

The beast roared in anger at the new opponent, and quickly swung its fist at Stealth in an attempt to crush him, only to have its fist explode in a burst of flames. It roared as pieces of scrap metal flew everywhere, but then tried to attack with its other arm. Unfortunately for the monster, however, it also exploded in a flaming blast.

"**GROOOARRRRRR; JUGGERNAUT HATE RED HEDGEHOG, HE DESTROY ARMS! JUGGERNAUT GONNA BLAST YOU INTO NEXT WEEK!!!"**

The monster began to charge its laser again, but before it got the chance to fire, Stealth disappeared, reappearing right behind the mechanical menace. A near split second later, the creature exploded into a shower of scrap metal...

...and Rouge was simply amazed.

"Where in the world did you get that much power?" asked Rouge as she made her way over to where Stealth now stood.

Stealth was a bit hesitant at first, as he felt as though she wouldn't believe him, but he finally owned up as he pulled a red gem from his jacket.

"Well," he began, "to be honest, I am really not sure how. All I know is that, while looking for Shadow, I stumbled across this Chaos Emerald. And when I picked it up, I felt this strange rush of power coursing through me. It felt like...a thousand supernovas happening all at once inside of me. After that happened, as strange as it may sound, the emerald showed me that you were in danger, so I used Chaos Control to quickly teleport myself here to help."

Rouge listened to every word, and realized that maybe there was something big going on.

"I think that this is more than just a coincidence," She said as she pulled the Cyan Emerald from her hammerspace, "The same thing happened to me, except the emerald granted me, as much as I hate to admit it, Ice-based powers."

"O rly?" asked Stealth playfully.

"Ya rly!" Rouge responded.

"No wai!"

"Yes wai!"

Stealth put his hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"How ironic that you would get ice powers, considering your hatred for the element..."

"PLEASE don't remind me!" Rouge gave Stealth the meanest warning glare he had ever seen, causing him to flinch a bit.

"S-sorry... Anyway, we need to find out more about this. Maybe we could go find Knuckles and ask him what is happening, considering his status as the Guardian of the Master Emerald..."

Just then, both the red and cyan emeralds began to glow, and hovered out of the grip of the two. They shot beams of light up in the air that collided together and created a screen made of light. This screen then began to show images of an electric blue hedgehog with yellow stripes in his quills, a young grey cat girl, and an unconscious young woman in a hooded cloak being attacked by strange, shadowed, humanoid creatures with glowing, red eyes.

"W-what's going on?" Rouge asked in confusion.

"This is the same thing that happened to me when I got the red emerald," explained Stealth, "it's showing us that we need to help them!"

"Wait a minute, I know that cat girl! She does item customizations for G.U.N.! Her shop is in Station Square!"

"Then we are going to have to get to Station square as fast as possible. Who knows, maybe one of them have been granted powers as well."

Rouge playfully nudged Stealth in the arm.

"Someone is getting confident all of a sudden..." she said with a mischievous tone in her voice.

"Hey, didn't you see what I did to that giant machine back there? I have a RIGHT to be confident in myself after that!"

"Speaking of which, whatever happened to Tikal? I lost sight of her after you saved me from that beam."

Almost as if on cue, the two of them looked over their shoulders to see Tikal unconscious on the ground, having been knocked out by a stray piece of scrap metal...  
----------------------

Knuckles was lost in the black void of his subconscious again. He wandered aimlessly, trying to find where he was supposed to go, but it was no use.

"OKAY, ALREADY!!!" he screamed in frustration, "I GET THAT I'M SUPPOSED TO SEE SOMETHING IMPORTANT, BUT CAN YOU SHOW IT TO ME ALREADY?!!"

He almost immediately got his answer as he was engulfed in a bright light, effectively blinding him.

When the light finally dimmed, and his eyesight returned, he was standing back in the Lava Reef, but something was amiss...

The many lava pools and natural bridges and tunnels were all gone, replaced with artificial lava canals and machinery. Many echidnas were busy at work, keeping the machinery running for whatever reason. Knux went to take a closer look, but he was stopped when he heard a familiar voice.

"I told you, Athair," said the stern voice of the echidna from Knuckles' earlier vision, "we are going to continue the ceremony as planned!"

He was walking along a nearby path with another echidna. This one, whom Knuckles surmised was Athair, appeared to be very elderly, had drab red fur and blue eyes, wore white and blue robes, and supported himself on a regal-looking golden staff.

"And I told you, Locke," Athair began in an elderly, argumentative tone, "He is still too young to receive the power. The Spirits of Chaos have shown me a vision of the future, and if you continue on your current path..."

"Spare me your spiritual mumbo-jumbo," snapped the echidna, whose name was now revealed to be Locke, "All I know is that Black Rose is amassing her army of Shadow Demons, and is ready to attack Angel Island. If we don't do this now, our only chance to defend ourselves will vanish along with the Guardian race!"

"...And if you continue with this, all life on the planet will be lost, and all will fall into the corrupted hands of **him**!"

Locke walked forward a bit and stopped in front of a large gate made of jade. The right part of it had a mosaic depiction of an angelic warrior wearing silver armor, and grasping 2 blades in his hands, the other depicting a silver hedgehog-shaped demon clad in black armor. Locke placed his hand on a small engraving on the door, and pushed in. A secret switch hidden in the door was triggered, and the two large gates began to slowly move apart, revealing a long stairwell up to somewhere.

"My apologies elder," Locke finally said, "but as guardian, my word is absolute. I know of all the dangers that my decision brings, and I have prepared for each and every one of them. Should anything happen, we WILL be ready..."

As Locke began to ascend the stairs, Knuckles began to feel light headed again, and his vision blurred once again. Soon, all went black as the vision finally ended...  
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**Slam422: And so we end yet another chapter of Knuckles Quest.**

**Matt: ...ARE YOU KIDDING?! Ending the chapter so suddenly is going to upset a lot of people!**

**Slam422: True, but do you see the freaking LENGTH of this chapter? I honestly think that no one is going to mind.**

**Matt: ...Okay, YOU don't get to do the chapter anymore...**

**Slam422: AWWWW!!! Why not?!...**

**Matt: Because, you end things WAY too suddenly. Anyways, DISCLAIMER TIME!  
**

**Disclaimer: Knuckles, Rouge, Tikal, the Lava Reef, the Hidden Palace and any other Sega Sonic character and themes are copyright SEGA. Locke, Athair and any other Archie Sonic character and themes are copyright of both SEGA and Archie Comic Publications. The design used for Athair, however, is the design from Sonic Underground; so that design is copyright...um...whomever made Sonic Underground? Finally, Stealth, the insect-like Buzzsquito Shadow Demon, and the mechanical giant Juggernaut Shadow Demon, plus any other thing that the above don't own are all copyright me, Slam422.**

_**NEXT CHAPTER: We check up on Slam, Kat, and Crystal as they attempt to fight the advancing Shadow Demon hordes. But what is the connection to our icy female hero and the mysterious Black Rose? Also, we get a visit from the Chaotix, as their fate is intertwined into this tale. What dangers could possibly await the ragtag group of detectives? And let us not forget about Knuckles, and his quest to discover his past; will he succeed? All of these questions (hopefully) will be answered next time on Knuckles Quest!**_


	6. The Pieces Fall Into Place

**Matt: Sorry for the wait, but I assure you that it was worth it. This is, to date, my longest chapter written so far, being just over 15 Microsoft Word pages long.**

**Before you begin reading, though, I have an important announcement to make. It's at the bottom of the chapter, so read it whenever you're ready. It's fairly important to me that you do...**

_**Last time on Knuckles Quest:**_

_**In search of answers to his past, Knuckles enters the dangerous Lava Reef and fights his way through to reach the entrance to the Hidden Palace, when he blacks out again and has a vision of the past. Meanwhile, a pleasant visit to Angel Island turns into a fight for her life as Rouge is attacked by strange bug-like monsters called Buzzsquitos, and is blasted down into the jungle. As she struggles to get out of the jungle in one piece, she discovers the Cyan Chaos Emerald, which grants her Ice powers (and for some reason, she is ungrateful for it...). She soon puts them to use as a giant, mechanical beast called Juggernaut attempted to destroy her, and almost succeeded. Luckily for Rouge, Stealth the Hedgehog appeared and, using Fire powers that he gained from the Red Chaos Emerald, utterly destroyed Juggernaut. After the confrontation, the Emeralds reveal to them that Slam, Crystal and Kat are in trouble, and immediately set out to help them...**_

**Now then, let's get chapter 6 started with...**

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Chapter 6: The Pieces Fall into Place...  
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It was yet another boring day at the Chaotix Detective Agency. There haven't been many cases recently, and the Chaotix crew was bored as heck. Vector sat at his office desk, leaning back in his seat, listening to a new CD that he had bought recently. Espio just sat in a small corner of the room, twirling a kunai dagger in his fingers, and Charmy, as usual, was nowhere to be seen, making it even quieter in the office than usual.

Vector yawned and stretched as he adjusted himself in his seat, and hit the pause button on his walkman. He picked up a nearby newspaper and began to flip through it.

"Man, things have been pretty slow lately," he said in his annoying voice, "I wonder if the help wanted section has any jobs we could do?..."

"You'd better be careful, Vector," said Espio in a worried voice, "Remember the last time we tried to do odd jobs during a slow work run?"

Vector just ignored the chameleon and continued looking through the help wanted. Just as he thought he found something, a familiar buzzing sound could be heard. Vector and Espio both looked at the door as the buzzing got louder and louder.

"Oh crud," said Vector, realizing what was coming, "not again..."

"VEEEEEECTOOOOOR!!!!!" yelled the hyperactive bee known as Charmy as he burst through the door. Unable to stop in time, however, he crashed right into Vector, knocking him to the floor once again.

"VECTOR THERE'S A BUNCH OF STRANGE SHADOWY CREATURES ATTACKING PEOPLE OUTSIDE AND ONE OF THEM TRIED TO GET ME BUT I RAN AWAY BUT I THINK THAT IT FOLLOWED ME AND I NEED HEEEEELP!!!!!" yelled the hyper-active bee, without even taking a moment to breathe.

Vector merely pushed Charmy off of him, got back into his seat, and began to read the paper again.

"Charmy," he began, "unless it has to do with making the rent this month, whatever you just said to me has no meaning whatsoever."

"...But Vector..."

"No buts; now go to your room!"

Just then, a large crash could be heard from outside, followed by an explosion. Vector jumped from shock, knocking him out of his seat again, Espio quickly got up from his seat and got into a battle ready stance, and Charmy just panicked and flew around while spitting out more non-comprehensible babble.

After bonking Charmy on the head in order to shut him up, the trio quickly ran outside to check out what happened, and what they saw completely stunned them.

A huge crater was all that was left of what used to be the large area in front of the office (which was next to the Station Square hotel), and smoke was billowing out of it. What was amazing, however, that nothing else seemed to have been damaged, despite the apparent force of the explosion...

"Whoa," said Espio in surprise, "what could have caused this?!"

Vector moved closer to the crater, and looked down in it. Strange, black ooze bubbled down inside of it. Espio and Charmy soon joined him as they gazed in and looked at the weird substance. Soon however, the trio was flung backward as a large tendril blasted out of the ooze and whipped all three of them. The ooze then expanded and began to grow out into a blob-like shape that quickly filled the crater. Two large tendrils shot out of the side of the newly-formed blob, and a pair of red glowing eyes appeared in the center. A large crystal of some kind then appeared inside of it, just barely visible through its body.

It wasted no time and lashed out at the trio, who managed to roll out of the way in time to avoid the giant creature's tendrils. Espio quickly pulled out several shuriken and tossed them straight at the monster, and every single one made their mark. The beast was unscathed by the ninja's barrage, and all of the shuriken were absorbed into its body.

"It absorbed the attack!" exclaimed Vector in amazement. The beast, whom will be referred to from this point on as 'Goomore', opened a mouth-like opening in its body, took in a huge breath of air, and spat out not only the shuriken that Espio through at it, but at least 100 copies of said shuriken.

The trio of detectives quickly dodged the flying shuriken, though they were scraped by a couple, and quickly jumped over another swipe of Goomores' tendril.

"This guy likes to play rough," Vector said in an aggravated tone, "let's see how he likes my Gator Breath Attack!"

Vector quickly took a huge breath, and breathed out a large, putrid, greenish-red stream of fire that impacted Goomore with great force. The flame didn't bother the monster at first, but the goop that made up its body began to slowly be eaten away by the flame, letting it get further and further in until it finally reached the crystal within the creature.

Goomore let out a bubbly scream of pain as the putrid flame burned away at the gem. Before long, however, Vector ran out of breath and the attack finally stopped. When the flames dispersed, the trio could see the scorched gem inside of it just as the goop began to reform around it.

"That gem must be the monsters weak spot," Espio said thoughtfully, "we should aim our energy attacks right at it."

"Oh boy," sang Charmy excitedly, "I've been dying for a chance to try out my new Hyper Bee Sting attack!"

The bee quickly flew up in the air and pointed his stinger straight at Goomore. He then began to spin on the spot. He kept spinning, getting faster and faster, until his body was nothing but a blur. Soon his body began to suck in air around him, turning himself into a small tornado. Just then, hundreds of air stingers began flying out from the bee, crashing into Goomores gooey hide.

Espio began making hand signs very quickly, charging up a large amount of his chakra for his next attack. As soon as he was done, he held both of his hands out to the side. After focusing his now charged chakra to his hands, swirls of air and leaves began to form around his arms.

"Earth Technique: Leaf Vortex Jutsu!"

Espio brought both his hands forward, clasping his hands together, and unleashed a swirling vortex of wind and razor-edged leaves at the beast, hitting it dead on.

Both Charmy and Espios attacks quickly ate away at the slime, quickly revealing Goomores crystalline core.

"Guys, keep it up," said Vector as he put several pieces of bubble gum into his mouth, "I'll finish it off with a Bubble Gum Bomb!"

Vector chewed the gum in his jaws as quickly as his sharp teeth would let him, and then blew a large bubble, filling it with his putrid breath. When the bubble was large enough, Vector separated it from the main wad in his mouth and knocked it at Goomores exposed core with a powerful swipe of his tail.

The bubble hit its intended target and, aided by the force of both Charmy and Espios attacks, exploded on the monsters core with so much force, that Goomore couldn't hold himself together anymore, and exploded in a gooey mess that drenched everything, including the detectives.

"Augh, GROSS!!!" yelled Charmy in disgust, "This is just NASTY!!!"

He quickly spun around to shake off some of the goop, only to have it splat on Vector, who shot the bee a death glare as he spat out some of the substance that got in his mouth.

Espio shook his hands to get some of the gunk off, and then looked at his palms. To his surprise, the slime had started to evaporate into a thin, dark mist, as did the gunk on the rest of his body. The same seemed to happen to the slime on both Vector and Charmy. The dark mist slowly rose in the air, and just seemed to disappear.

"That was weird..." Espio said.

The same was happening to the rest of the slime that splattered everywhere. All of it seemed to disappear into thin air. The trio, thinking that they had won, had started to head back to their office, but another rumble shook the ground.

"W-whoa, what's going on!" shouted Vector in surprise. The trio looked back to the crater, and was surprised to see that the crystalline core of the slime monster that they just destroyed was still in-tact, and it was hovering above the large crater. Some slime reformed around it, and shot slime tentacles at the ground and picked up some stones. The stones were pulled back to it, and more tentacles shot out to pick up more stones. This continued until a humanoid figure began to be formed by the picked up earth.

"We are seriously boned..." commented Charmy.

The newly created slime golem, whom shall now be called Slimestone, roared in anger at the trio of detectives.

"So you still want more?" asked Vector, "Then I guess that playtime is over!"

Charmy used his Hyper Bee Sting; Espio unleashed another Leaf Vortex Jutsu, and Vector blasted it with his putrid Gator Breath. All three attacks hit the target dead on, but the creature didn't even flinch. It raised its stone fist in the air, and smashed down on the trio, knocking them back.

Espio landed on his feet and quickly ran back towards Slimestone as fast as he could. He leaped up on the creatures arm before it got a chance to lift it off the ground from the last attack, ran up its arm, and landed a solid blow in its neck with one of his shuriken before leaping off. While Espio did this, Vector charged at the monsters legs and slammed into it hard. The combination of the high and low attacks knocked the monster off balance, and then Charmy rammed straight into the crystal in its chest, finally knocking it down.

"D-did we get him?" asked Espio, "because I'm starting to run low on my Chakra..."

"I-I think that we d-did..." replied an equally tired Vector.

"Let's hope so..." said Charmy, who was on the ground and had swirls in his eyes...

It seemed as though they did destroy the beast, as there was no movement from it. Espio got a bit closer to make sure, but was caught off guard when the monster suddenly revived and grabbed the poor chameleon in his grasp.

"ESPIOOOOO!!!!" yelled Charmy in worry. Vector quickly ran to try and save his friend, but a huge stone wall came up and separated them from each other. Vector slammed the wall with all the strength he could muster, but it didn't even crack. They could only stand there and listen to Espio scream in pain as his body was slowly being crushed in Slimestone's grip.

Just then, an energy blast seemingly came out of nowhere and blasted Slimestone in the back, causing him to drop both the stone wall and Espio. A black and yellow blur then quickly snatched up the Chameleon and safely dropped him off next to his friends. Vector and Charmy quickly checked on their friend to see if he was okay as the blur continued to attack the slimy stone creature. It roared in both pain and anger as the blur continued to damage its body. Slimestone raised its fist and punched at the blur just as it was about to strike again, and managed to knock it away. It quickly landed, and the Chaotix were finally able to see who their helper was.

It was none other than Shadow the Hedgehog, with the green emerald grasped firmly in his grip.

He merely glanced over his shoulders to look at his fallen allies, and gave a grunt of acknowledgement, and turned back to Slimestone. The creature roared in aggravation and tried to smash Shadow with his large stone fist, but Shadow merely used Chaos Control to warp away to the top of a nearby building. While the creature was distracted by its confusion, Shadow drew a large amount of Chaos Energy from the emerald and fired a huge Chaos Spear at the gem in its chest.

The attack impacted with full force, and Slimestone screeched in pain. It quickly regained its composure, however, and lunged at Shadow with its large, stone-y fist. Shadow merely jumped up and landed on the arm (like Espio had done earlier), but he was caught off guard when the strange slime seeped out of the cracks in the monsters body and grabbed hold of his legs.

Realizing that he couldn't break free, Shadow quickly threw the Chaos Emerald that he held down to the Chaotix so that the monster wouldn't get to it. Charmy quickly flew up and caught the gem, but the moment he did the emerald instantly sent out a charge of energy that caused him to release it in surprise. It fell and landed in front of both Vector and Espio, and as Charmy landed right next to the two, the green gem seemed to give off a welcoming glow that began to draw the trio in. They all reached out and grasped the emerald simultaneously, causing a strange force of energy to flow through all of them. Their eyes all glowed one of 3 shades of green as the emeralds energy drained right into their body.

Without even realizing what happened, the trio was instantly healed, and their energy levels were restored to full.

"Wow...what just happened?" inquired Vector, whom was a bit stunned at what just happened.

"No idea..." replied an equally stunned Charmy.

"Maybe the emerald sensed that we needed help and gave us its power?" suggested Espio.

"Maybe, but..."

"UH GUYS?!" interrupted Shadow. The trio looked up to Shadow and watched as threw several chaos energy-charged punches and kicks at the slime tentacles. "While your conversation is more than likely important to the overall plot, I COULD REALLY USE A HAND HERE!!!"

Vector wasted no time at all and took a huge breath for another Gator Breath attack, but when he exhaled, it was not a putrid blast of flame that came out, but a barrage of energy-charged stones. The chunks of earth slammed into Slimestones arm and blasted it completely off.

Shadow fell out of the slimy explosion and landed near the trio. When he looked up at the trio of detectives, however, he noticed that they all had blank expressions on their faces.

"What in heaven's name was THAT?!" said Vector after almost 3 minutes of silence.

"That was called 'Stone Shooter'," replied Shadow, "it's a Stone-type Earth attack that lets the user fire multiple energy-charged stones at an enemy. You must have gained that ability when you absorbed the emeralds power."

"But if Vector gained a new ability when the emerald energized us," began Espio, "doesn't that mean we all did?"

"I do not know for sure..."

Shadow pointed over towards where Slimestone stood. Vector, Espio and Charmy all looked over just in time to see the creature regenerate its arm by using its slime to grab large chunks of stone and reforming it into a new arm with a large stone mace in place of the hand.

"...but let's give that theory a test on that Shadow Demon. Espio, do you know of a jutsu called Hypervine Frenzy?"

Espios eyes widened in surprise. "T-that's my old master's jutsu, how did you know about it?"

"It doesn't matter right now! Do you know how to use it?"

"Yes, but I have nowhere near enough chakra..."

"If the emerald did what I think it did, then you should have more than enough to pull it off. Now, use it!"

"Alright, I'll do it, but it will take me a few moments to ready it. Distract it until then

"No problem there!" exclaimed an even more hyper Charmy (if that is even possible), "I'll bash that stupid golem into next week while you charge up the finisher!"

Charmy flew back up into the air and charged up for another Hyper Bee Sting. This time, however, as he spun, a small tornado of wind formed around his body. He kept spinning faster and faster until finally a barrage of wind blades began to blast outward from his body and slashed the stony demon on every single portion of its body. The beast, however, seemed unfazed by it.

"Why ain't his attacks working?" wondered Vector.

"It's because of the creature's element." replied Shadow.

Vector gave Shadow a quizzical look.

"The Earth chaos element is divided into 3 sub-elements: Stone, Plant and Air. These sub-elements share a sort of triangular relationship; that is to say, Air beats Plant, Plant beats Stone, and Stone beats Air. The Shadow Demon we are facing is a Stone type, so while Charmys attacks are doing some damage to the creature, it is only a minor annoyance."

With that being said, Shadow quickly jumped back into the fray. He launched several Chaos Spear attacks at various points on the creature's body as Charmy continued with his onslaught of wind blades. Not wanting to be left out, Vector quickly joined in the fight by his new Stone Shooter attack. Each attack from our heroes that landed knocked off another boulder from Slimestones body, slowly eating away at it until finally all that was left was the slime and a large crystal in the center.

"I'm ready!" announced Espio, who now had an immense aura of chakra surrounding him.

The trio ceased their attacks and stood back as Espio quickly did several hand signs. As he did, his chakra began to disperse into the ground. When he was done, he quickly slammed the ground with his palm.

"Earth Technique: Hypervine Frenzy Jutsu!"

At this call, large vines erupted from the ground and began to wrap themselves around the slimy creature. It tried to escape, but the vines were somehow causing the slime to collapse in on itself and unable to expand. Soon, the entirety of the gunk was completely cocooned inside of the vines. After this, a huge burst could be heard from inside, and when the vines cleared, all that was left of the creature was its core.

The core, however, had changed. Before, it was jagged and had a dark aura around it; now, it was completely round and smooth, and had a white aura around it. The core floated gently down and stopped in front of Espio, where it turned into energy and absorbed itself into Espios body

"Um, that was weird..."

"Well," stated Vector, "at least that creature is gone."

Almost immediately, all 3 of the detectives turned and faced Shadow.

"However, I deduce that there is more to this than meets the eye, not to mention that I think that you're keeping something from us."

"You could say that," said Shadow in his usual 'I really don't care' voice, "but I assure you, the answers you seek shall be given to you very soon. As for now, we need to meet up with my colleagues."

Just as Shadow said that, the entrance lift by Twinkle Park descended, and both Sonic and Eggman both stepped off it.

"...I told you already, Eggman," Sonic exclaimed, "I'm not going to miss out on the rare chance to actually get to see my family just to help you with one of your problems! Now leave me alone!"

"But Sonic," Eggman practically begged, "this threat could mean the end of all existence, and your power is needed to save it!"

"Give me one good reason why I should even trust you..."

"Because he's telling the truth." Shadow interrupted.

Sonic turned in surprise to face Shadow and the Chaotix, and when he did, he managed to see the destruction that had been caused by the monster.

"Oh my God," Sonic said in surprise, "what happened here?!

"We just got finished fighting this strange slimy stone monster." Vector responded.

"I believe that Shadow called it a Shadow Demon, correct?" Espio thought out loud, "I wonder where it came from."

"To be quite honest, we aren't sure." Eggman replied. "All we know is that those monsters have the power to corrupt souls."

"Wait a second," started Sonic, "corrupt souls? How is that even possible?"

"Once again," began Shadow, "we don't know. However, what we do know is that the Chosen of Chaos can stop them. Speaking of which: Eggman, did you give Sonic his little 'gift'?"

"Oh, right..." said Eggman in an almost disappointed tone. He reached behind him, into his hammerspace, and pulled out the Silver Chaos Emerald.

"I regret doing this, but our current situation leaves me no choice. Take this emerald Sonic."

Sonic just stood there, in complete disbelief.

"Eggman," said Sonic calmly, "you're just giving me a Chaos Emerald?"

"Yes, I am..."

"No pranks?"

"No, no pranks..."

"No fighting?"

"No, no fighting..."

"No tricks?"

Eggman was beginning to grow a bit impatient. "No, no tricks..."

"Absolutely no schemes or underhanded plots where you give me the emerald, only to have it explode in my face in order to try and kill me?"

At this, the scientist just lost it.

"JUST TAKE THE DAMN THING BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!!!"

Sonic jumped in the air out of fright.

"Ah, don't do that! It's just kind of hard to believe that you're just giving it to me with no strings attached!"

"Yeah, well, the world is just in that much danger. Just remember that once this is all over, I WILL get it, as well as the other 6 emeralds, back."

Sonic just gave Eggman a bit of a threatening glare, and swiped the emerald from his hand. As soon as Sonic had touched the emerald, he could feel its energy being transferred into his body. Sonic's eyes glowed with a silver light as the emerald continued its energy transfer.

When the energy transfer finished, Sonic's senses seemed to have been heightened. His vision, hearing, senses of smell and taste, and all of his other senses seemed to be a bit clearer to him; he felt 'purified', as it were...

"That felt extremely weird," he said, "but at the same time, I feel completely refreshed; as if I haven't been up all night, which I have..."

"So then," began Shadow, "You are the Chosen of Light, eh? Why am I not surprised...?"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" said Sonic in an agitated tone, "What the heck do you mean by 'Chosen of Light'."

"The Chosen of Chaos are warriors, chosen by the elemental Spirits of Chaos, to protect our world from corruption. You were chosen by the White Chaos Emerald, in which lies the spirit known as Chaos Light, thus marking you as the Chosen of Light. In the same way, the Green Emerald houses the spirits known as Chaos Air, Chaos Plant, Chaos Stone, and Chaos Earth. They have chosen the Chaotix to be the Chosen of the Earth Elements."

Just then, both the Silver and Green Chaos Emeralds began to glow brightly. A beam of light shot out of each and collided with each other, forming a large energy screen.

"What in the world?!" exclaimed Charmy, "What the heck is the emerald doing?!"

"Well," started Vector, "I'm no emerald expert, but I deduce that the emeralds are trying to tell us something."

"Perhaps it's showing us where more of these Chosen of Chaos are?" wondered Espio.

The energy screen flashed, and showed images of a cyan hedgehog fighting off against hundreds of Shadow Demons, as well as attempting to protect a young, grey cat girl and another hooded figure.

"So, now we know who we're looking for," said Shadow. "Let's get moving..."  
-------------------------------------------

"Damn it!" yelled an aggravated Slam as he just barely avoided a claw swipe from one of the Shadow Demons, "this is seriously gettin' old and it's gettin' old FAST!!!"

Slam quickly pulled out a pair of machine guns from his pack and charged them up with his electrical energy. He then unleashed a barrage of electric bullets that cut through the creatures like a hot knife through butter.

Nearby, Kat watched Slam's slaughter while she tried her best to keep Crystal, whom was still knocked out, safe. One of the Shadow Demons saw her, and attempted to attack, but it was cut short by an electric bullet to the head. Slam then quickly made his way over to where the girls were.

"You two okay?" asked Slam in worry, "I think that maybe you should get her inside, like, NOW!"

"But Slam," Kat worried, "what about you?"

"I'll be fine; just gotta do somethin' real quick. Now get goin'!"

Kat just nodded and, with a small bit of effort, pulled Crystal over her shoulder and walked into the store.

Once the two were safely inside, Slam moved in front of the door, and began to charge up as much Thunder Energy as he could; every last bit of it. As he did, several Shadow Demons leaped at him.

"If you stupid monsters think that you're gonna get passed me, you're crazy!"

Slam released the energy and created a large barrier of Thunder Energy that surrounded the entire building. The creatures that attempted to get Slam ran straight into the barrier and were vaporized in an instant.

"Damn," Slam cursed as he fell to his knees, "I think I used up all of that phony emeralds power..."

He managed to pull himself back to his feet and quickly got inside. Some of the more idiotic Shadow Demons attempted to chase after him, but were cut short as they were vaporized by the barrier.

As Slam walked inside, the first thing that he saw was Kat attending to some burns and wounds on Crystal's body (caused by the energy attack Black Rose hit her with).

"How is she?" Slam asked. The way he said it sounded as if he didn't care, but Kat knew that he was just as worried about their new ally as she was.

"Just a couple of small cuts," Kat replied, "a few burns here or there, but other than that she seems to be doing fine."

Kat then got a bit uneasy...

"However, I'm going to need to check out the rest of her body to make sure that there aren't too serious of injuries, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room for a few moments, if you know what I mean..."

"I know what ya mean," said Slam, "but I suggest you take her upstairs to do that; I gotta stay down here in case the barrier I set up breaks."

Kat just simply nodded and, with a bit of help from Slam, picked Crystal up and draped her over the shoulder. As she headed towards the stairwell, she paused and looked back at Slam.

"Are you absolutely sure about this? Your barrier must have drained every last bit of the energy that the false emerald gave you..."

At this, Slam just closed his eyes, hung his head, gave a cocky smirk, and chuckled a bit under his throat.

"Remember what I told ya the day we met? 'I ain't gonna let anybody lay a finger on ya. At least, as long as I got anything to say about it...' I meant what I said, and I'm gonna keep my promise; even if it costs me my life. Now get that glacial girl up and runnin' again: she may be able to help us out here..."  
-------------------------------------------

Several blocks away from the Item Customization Store, Stealth and Rouge both step out of a Chaos Control warp.

"Sometimes you just gotta love being an Ultimate Life Form prototype," said Stealth with a bit of pride and cockiness in his voice, "what with being able to use Chaos Control whenever I want and all..."

Rouge just simply rolled her eyes at him.

"That may be true," she said, "but it also comes with an undeserved sense of importance. I swear that you're more like Shadow than you care to admit..."

"Well, technically we ARE brothers, so we do share some qualities. Heck, you should see Shadow when he's not trying to be so..."

Stealth was immediately cut off by Rouge's hand shoving up against his mouth.

"Please, just shut up. The Item Customization Shop is only a few blocks away from here, and I'd prefer to make the trip in silence."

"Sorry," came a familiar voice, "but you're probably not going to get the silence that you wanted once you see who is standing right behind you."

Both Rouge and Stealth turned around to see Shadow and Sonic quickly run up behind them, followed closely behind them by the Chaotix, and then Eggman (whom was extremely out of breath from having to run so fast JUST to keep up with the pace of the Chaotix, let alone Sonic and Shadow).

"Yo, Shadow," called Stealth, "I've been looking all over for ya, bro!"

Shadow just gave one of his 'I really don't care' grunts.

"Sorry," he said half-heartedly "I've been a bit to busy lately to hang out with you."

At this point, Shadow began to sense something coming from both his brother and Rouge.

"Stealth, you wouldn't happen to have any Chaos Emeralds on you, would you?"

"Heh, you never were one to beat around the bush, bro. It's always business with you."

Both Rouge and Stealth held out their Chaos Emeralds.

"When we found them," Rouge began, "they gave off a strange energy that granted us elemental abilities; Fire for Stealth and, as much as I hate to admit it, Ice for myself. We have no idea why the emeralds gave us this power, or what they want us to do with them, but afterward the emeralds showed us an image of several people in trouble, and we felt as though we had to help..."

"So then you're both Chosen of Chaos as well?" inquired Charmy.

"Um, what's a Chosen of Chaos?"

"We'll explain later," said Shadow, "for now, let's go and help those people."

Everyone just nodded and they were off again...  
-------------------------------------------

"It's been so long since I was last here," Knuckles said in awe as he looked on at the vast inner sanctum of the Hidden Palace, "but I remember it as though I were here yesterday."

Using the springs scattered across the many floors of the city-sized palace, Knuckles quickly worked his way up to the top level. As he went, he found himself remembering the day when he faced off against Sonic...  
-------------------------------------------

"_So, you finally made it..." said a voice that came from the shadows. Sonic quickly turned to find Knuckles, the echidna that had been causing him problems since the moment he arrived on the Floating Isle._

_Sonic said nothing as he watched the red menace slowly make his way to the large mural over on the wall._

"_This mural depicts an ancient legend that was passed down throughout generations of Echidna Guardians. According to this; a great evil will arise one day and attempt to use the legendary Master Emerald to conquer all, but a powerful warrior will arise and, using the power of Ascended Chaos, would defeat the evil and bring hope and peace to the planet for all time."_

"_...And you think that I'm that evil force?" asked Sonic._

"_I did, for a time. But now I see that what Robotnik had told me of you was false, and that _he _was the true evil all along."_

_Knuckles then turned to face Sonic, and took a defensive stance._

"_...however, just because I was wrong about Robotnik, it doesn't mean that I can trust you just yet: you and I must face off in battle."_

"_I don't want to fight you. Don't you see that this is exactly what Eggman wants? If we fight now, then Eggman will have the perfect opportunity to sneak passed while we are distracted and swipe the Master Emerald!"_

"_I believe that you have no choice. According to the laws of my people, an outsider may not be allowed into the Shrine of Ascended Chaos unless they are able to prove themselves in battle by defeating the current Guardian. And as the guardian, I must uphold them no matter the cost!"_

"_Geez, you sure are stubborn..."  
_-------------------------------------------

"Yeah," Knuckles said absentmindedly as he landed on the top-most walkway, "those were such good times. I may have given Sonic quite a bit of problems in the past, but he helped me journey to lands outside of the boundaries of this island. We would travel to the far corners of this world on the search for Chaos Emeralds, and would always foil Eggman's schemes on the way. He was my first true friend, and I thank Chaos every day for him..."

As Knuckles focused on his monologue, he quickly reached the end of the pathway and entered into the room just before the Ascended Chaos Alter. When he made it half-way in, he stopped for a moment, and then looked to the side and gazed upon the mural that was embedded into the wall.

"...but whatever it is that I find in the next room is going to change everything I know; everything anyone knows, and Chaos forbid it cause a disaster..."  
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**Matt: ...And so, another chapter comes to an end. I hope that you've enjoyed the story so far. Now then, I have something important to say...**

**I love writing; it's something that I find quite easy and fun to do. Sure, I'm not very punctual with my updates, and I need to work a bit on my grammar, punctuation and presentation a bit, but I find that it's one of the best things in the world. ****That is why I have decided to become a full-fledged author, and publish my own original stories. I've already got several ideas for my first book, of which I have a complete series planned out for it, and I've already begun work on it.**

**Some Random Guy: But what about your fan fictions and fan comics?**

**Matt: Relax everyone; I'm not going to give up on them. I will continue Knuckles Quest, SMB: LOTSK (my Mario fan fiction), and STH: MKC (a Sonic/Mario crossover Fan Comic that you can find on my DeviantART and Sheezy Art accounts) as planned. I just feel as though I've found my true calling, and I want to take advantage of the chance that I've been given by the good lord.**

**I just hope that I have all your support on this...**

**Disclaimer: Vector, Espio, Charmy, Sonic, Eggman, Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles, the Chaos Emeralds, Hidden Palace Zone and any other related content are copyright to Sega. Slam, Stealth, Crystal, Kat, the Chosen of Chaos and any related content, along with the story, all belong to me, Matthew Weddell (aka Slam422, MasterofChaos (Sheezy Art), and Sonic21987 (Sonic Stadium Message Boards).**

**Matt: Thank you everyone, I'll see you next chapter**

**(please review...)**


	7. Shadow Demon Seige

**Matt: To those of you who even still read this story, I apologize for the bit of a wait on this chapter. I could say that it's because I have been working on my comic more often lately (which is true), or I could say that writing out my new novel is consuming a lot of time as well (which is also true), but the truth is that I have no excuse to the delay between chapters other than laziness and distraction.**

**In any case, I bring to you the next chapter in the saga. After this chapter, there will be 2 more chapters in this saga and then at least 5 chapters for the second one (which also kicks off the beginning of the main plot). After that, each saga will not exceed a maximum of 3 chapters until the final one, of which I plan to make at least 9 to 10 chapters long. Also, from here on out, I am going to make these as high quality as I can make them, so please be prepared for a much better story in the near future…**

**As always, the Disclaimer is at the bottom. Now let's begin the next chapter!

* * *

**

Chapter 7: Shadow Demon Siege

(Crystal's POV)

Darkness; that was all I could see. There were no walls, no ceiling, no floor, just an endless sea of darkness. I tried as hard as I could to move, but my body would not even budge. I tried to call for help, but no sound came out of my voice.

Was I dead? I remember fighting against Black Rose alongside Slam, and then we had her in a corner, but something distracted us and then... Well, it happened so fast that I really can't remember...

Just as I though that I was going to be here forever, a strange feeling came over me. The area seemed to light up a bit, and the room I was in started to blur into focus. I finally realized that I was laying down on something soft, and was lookin up at a slightly dirty ceiling.

"So, you're finally awake..." said a voice from close by. I jumped in surprise and quickly turned to the sound of the voice, only to relax to find that it was just Slam.

I took a quick look around the room to gain my bearings. The room I was in was old and slightly run-down, and was pretty much empty, save for the bed I was laying in, the chair next to it that Slam was sitting in, and a small end table next to him that had several medical supplies sitting on top of it. There was a door leading out into the main room adjacent to the bed, and a window that overlooked the front area of the building across from it.

"What happened?" I asked, curious as to the events that transpired.

"Well," he began, "you got hit by one of Black... whatever-her-name-was' attacks, and was knocked out by it. Den she called these strange shadowy things to attack us. We got outta there only by da skin of our teeth."

When I heard this, I hung my head in shame: I never realized that Black Rose would go so far as to summon Shadow Demon on them. If there were any way that I could have finished this without involving anyone in all of this, then this war would have been over centuries ago. Slam knows next to nothing about the adventure that awaits him and the other Chosen of Chaos, and they are our only hope.

"So, you're an echidna, eh?"

As soon as I heard Slam say that single sentence, my head perked up in shock. _How did he know that?!_ I thought to myself. I was eventually going to tell him about it, but only after I explained everything.

"H-how did you..."

"...know you were an echidna? Well, I had my suspicions from when what's-her-face said "Your kind has been trying ta rid da world of me for centuries", but I found out while Kat treated your wounds. She had ta remove your hood and scarf. By da way, I like that little snowflake mark on your forehead"

I tried to push myself out of bed, but a sharp pain coursed throughout my entire body, and I was forced to lay back down by it.

"Hey," Slam said with worry as he stood over me, "don't try ta move just yet. Ya may have only taken one shot, but it was still enough ta do quite a bit of damage to ya..."

Just then, the young cat girl (I believe her name is Katherine, correct?) came running into the room in a bit of a panicked state.

"Slam," she exclaimed, "you're never going to guess what's happening outside!"

"What's up?"

"Sonic, Shadow, Rouge and several others are outside fighting those strange creatures outside, AND ARE WINNING!!!"

My eyes widened upon hearing this.

"The other Chosen of Chaos?" I wondered quietly to myself. Needing to see this with my own eyes, I pushed myself out of bed (despite the pain I was in) and quickly limped over to the window. When I got there, I was so surprised by the sheer amount of Shadow Demons that I nearly fell over. Their numbers were just overwhelming: there were so many that the streets looked like several rivers of shadows that all intersected with one another. All the Demons by the barrier that Slam had set up were attempting to drain its power by overwhelming it, and the others all seemed to try and gather around several clearings.

That was when I saw them; the one's that Kat had talked about. I instantly recognized both Shadow and Eggman, as they are individuals whom I have allied myself with in order to find the Chosen of Chaos faster, and I recognized Sonic the Hedgehog from the descriptions that Eggman and Shadow had given me of him. The two hedgehogs alternated between Homing Attacks and Chaos Energy Attacks, whilst Eggman fired purified energy blasts from a special energy cannon that I had designed for him to use.

There was also a sexually-appealing bat girl with them, as well as a red hedgehog whom looked very similar to Shadow. I could sense, even from this distance that they were both Chosen of Chaos, and was amazed by their teamwork despite their obvious elemental differences. Along with them was a trio of warriors, a crocodile, chameleon and bee, whom I could sense were the Chosen of Earth Elements.

However, despite the fact that they were all doing so well, they were all vastly outnumbered and needed help as soon as possible.

"They won't be able to last for long against that onslaught of Shadow Demons," I said, "we need to get out there and help them!"

"Hold on there," said Katherine, "you're in no condition to fight anyone!"

"Not to mention dat I ain't got none of dat power left after setting up dat barrier..." Slam added.

I wanted to argue with them, and try to convince them otherwise, but I knew that they were right. Still, I couldn't just sit by and watch the Chosen be destroyed, not after all the trouble I've been through these past few years. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a green bandana that I tied around my head, covering the crystal snowflake on my forehead and pushing up my bangs so that they were out of my eyes.

"I'm sorry to disagree with you," I said, hoping that they would understand, "but I have no choice."

"But isn't there another way?" asked Katherine. "I mean, fighting can't be the only answer, can it?"

"I don't like it any more than you," I replied, "but we have no choice."

As I said this, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a green bandana and tied it around my head, covering up the snowflake birthmark on my forehead.

"Shadow Demons only care about destruction and corruption, and as the Guardian of the Ice element I can't sit idly by and watch them run amok. Slam, could you please lend me the source of light energy that I sense in your pocket?"

Slam gave me a questioning look, but then understood what I meant and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small stone of Rainbow Ore. I quickly took it from his hands and began to draw the light energy out of it. I then focused that energy into a barrier that encompassed both me and Slam.

"H-hey, what's goin on?!" said Slam in surprise, but his worries were soon put to rest as healing energy began to flow throughout it, restoring the wounds that both Slam and I had taken.

"I haven't the time to explain anything to you now," I said, "but I promise that I will. For now, we must go out there and help those warriors. I managed to take the Thunder Energy in the ore and infuse it into your body so you can destroy those Shadow Demons, but avoid using energy-based attacks; they will drain your power too quickly."

"Right..."

And with that, we were off to battle. I just hope that we can make a difference...  
-------------------------------------

(Normal POV)

_Never would I have imagined that I would be fighting alongside Eggman for a greater good,_ Sonic thought to himself as he dodged several attacks from the Grunts (Grunts are Mobian-esque Shadow demons with glowing red eyes). While dodging he looked over at Eggman, whom was using special mechanical gauntlets to fight off the Grunts that attacked him.

_...But I guess stranger things have happened..._

Sonic quickly jumped up to avoid a swipe from one of the demons and then preformed a homing attack on it, causing it to vaporize into black mist before disappearing entirely. He then followed it up with a chain of homing attacks on several more, and then launched a Sonic Wind attack into the crowd of demons, creating a small clearing in which he landed.

At the exact same time, Shadow was performing several melee attacks against oncoming Grunts. He quickly ducked under a kick and grabbed the demon's leg, and then proceeded to throw it into another one that tried to attack from behind. He then smashed in the face of another, and kicked it back into several demons behind it. A huge group then attempted to overwhelm him, but Shadow used a low-intensity Chaos Blast to knock them all away from him. He then jumped up in the air and, while using his Air Shoes to keep himself afloat, launched a series of Chaos Spear attacks that took out a large amount of them. He then landed in the clearing next to Sonic.

"How ya holding up Shadow," Sonic asked in his usual cocky tone as the two moved back to back, "hope you're having as much fun as I am?"

"This is not the time for fun," Shadow replied in a serious tone as he knocked back a couple of Grunts with several Chaos Arrows, "we're being overrun by these creatures! We need to get serious and, as much as I hate to say it, work together if we're going to stand a chance against them."

Sonic quickly knocked back several more as he replied. "I **am** being serious; it's just that I'm the kind of guy who likes to find a thrill in every fight. But if you want to work together, how about a Team Attack?"

Shadow just nodded as he leaped into the air and hovered in place. Sonic followed suit by quickly charging up a Spin Attack and launched himself up at Shadow. Shadow then caught Sonic and, while he was still spinning, started to draw off energy from the emerald in Sonic's possession and charged him up with it. Sonic's body was soon engulfed in a bright, blinding light as the energy charged him up and made him spin faster and faster.

"Take this," exclaimed Shadow, "Sonic Driver!!!"

Shadow launched Sonic straight down into the crowd of Grunts and, upon impact with the ground, sent out a shockwave of light energy that vaporized all the demons within a 30 yard radius (as well as leaving Sonic with a decent sized headache, as he landed head first).

Meanwhile, Rouge was having problems of her own: for every Grunt she took out, at least five more seemed to replace it. She was starting to be overrun by them, and was quickly running out of room.

Rouge just narrowly dodged another claw swipe from a Grunt, only to be bashed in the face by another, knocking her back. When she regained balance, she attempted to fire several ice shards, but was knocked off balance again by another attack. Another demon came in and kicked her hard in the back, sending her flying into a nearby building window.

Despite taking such a pounding, she was still able to keep herself from passing out, and pushed herself as hard as she could to stand up. The moment she got back up, she saw a shadowy fist headed straight towards her face. Unable to react in time, she closed her eyes and waited for it to make contact. After a few moments of waiting, however, the strike never came. Rouge slowly opened one eye, but snapped both right open when she saw Stealth standing right in front of her, with the remains of the Grunt disintegrating.

"Need some help?" he asked in a romantic sounding voice as he held his hand out to help her.

Rouge had to admit one thing about Stealth; despite being a coward and running away most of the time, he always had a habit of showing up at just the right time, and always came out on top. Unfortunately, she wasn't about to show him any gratitude, as she believed that it was just another attempt to romance her, and so she smacked his hand away.

"I don't need help from a sniveling coward who disappears when he is needed most," she said in a cold voice, "besides; they just got lucky."

Stealth just sighed to himself.

_Geez,_ he thought, _talk about your Ice Queens..._

Their moment of reprieve was short lived, however, as they were quickly surrounded again.

"I think that you're going to need my help now anyways," said Stealth as he got into a defensive stance, "This situation calls for a Team Attack!"

"If I must..."

Stealth and Rouge faced each other and held out their hands. They focused their elemental energy into their palms and, as best they could, fuse the elements together. A sphere of Fire and Ice energy began to form between them and grew larger and larger.

"Fire and Ice working together to defeat evil," Stealth said in a philosophical type of voice, "so how about we call this attack the Freezer Burn?"

"Sounds kind of corny to me," said Rouge, "but whatever helps you sleep at night..."

When the energy reached its maximum charge, the two threw the energy out in a shockwave of heat and cold. The fire energy quickly heated up the Grunts to the point where they were glowing red, and then the ice cooled them down so fast that they all literally crumbled to pieces.

"I think they're all torn up about this..." Stealth joked.

"It's not over yet," said Rouge as she dodged an energy blast from a Grunt clad in silver armor. She quickly blasted it, and then launched an Ice Cutter that cleared a path to where Shadow and Sonic were. The two then took the opportunity to join up with their friends.

Elsewhere still, Espio, Charmy and Vector were having their own problems to worry about.

Charmy was being chased by Gullers: seagull-like Shadow Demons with rockets mounted on their backs. Charmy launched a volley of Air Stingers at them, but the attacks did no damage. One of the Gullers launched its rocket at him, and struck the poor be in the back. The explosion, however, was air-based, so Charmy took next-to-no damage.

"HEY VECTOR!!!" called out the little bee, "I'm making no head-way up here, think you can lend me a hand?!"

On the ground, Vector was busy fighting off several Shadow Demons. He swatted a couple of Grunts away from him with his tail, followed by a ground-shaking stomp on a silver-armored Grunt, causing it to disintegrate.

"I'll be with ya in just a second, Charmy," called out Vector as he placed a piece of gum in his mouth, "I just gotta get some elbow room down here!"

Vector quickly chewed up the piece of gum as he fought off advancing Shadow Demons. A sword-wielding Grunt attempted to slash at him from behind, but Vector caught sight of him at the last moment and, with a bit of clumsy finesse, dodged it and blew a bubble bomb right at its face. As soon as it exploded, Vector then launched several more into the air. Charmy knew what he had planned, and flew straight through the bubbles. The Gullers that were chasing him blindly followed him in, and were destroyed one by one as they each ran into a bubble gum bomb.

Espio wasn't having much luck fighting off the Shadow Demons as the others were. As a ninja, he relies heavily on his usage of Ninjutsu, alongside his martial arts skills. The demons weren't giving him enough of a chance to make the hand signs for his jutsu, and was only able to just hold them off.

One tried to get him from behind, but Espio quickly turned around and slashed the demon in two with a katana that he pulled from is hammerspace. He then followed up by rushing through several more, in hopes that he could make it through to his teammates. Unfortunately he was hit in the gut by a grunt and then kicked in the face by an Armored Grunt, causing him to fall flat on his behind. He quickly got back up and tried to slash his way through the armored grunt, but the blade just bounced off its armor.

"Pathetic..." said the Armored Grunt as he knocked Espio back onto the ground, "...for Chosen, you don't fight so good..."

"I'm a ninja," Espio said, "I'm not used to close-quarters combat..."

"That good for me: You go squish easier that way!"

"I think not..."

Espio quickly pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it down at his feet, releasing a large cloud of smoke that enveloped a small area around him. The Armored Grunt was caught up in the smoke and tried desperately to find its way out, but was quickly stopped by being decapitated by Espio's katana.

When the smoke finally cleared, it wasn't just the Armored Grunt that was destroyed: Espio had taken care of every single Shadow Demon engulfed by the haze. After the bodies of the decapitated Shadow Demons vanished, Espio quickly ran to join his 2 comrades.

"We're way outnumbered!" Espio called to his teammates, "What are we going to do?"

"Team Blast," Charmy called in a hyper voice, "we gotta do a Team Blast!"

"Fine by me," Vector replied, "I'm starting to get tired of these guys anyway…"

The trio reached into their hammerspaces and pulled out their instruments of destruction: which in this case were actual instruments. Charmy held his drum, Vector had his microphone, and Espio held his….uh, Japanese guitar thingy… (What do you call that instrument anyway?) The trio held their instruments at the ready, and began their concert…

…And BOY did they ever suck. Vector just basically screamed into the mike, Charmy just pounded away on his drum and Espio…. Well, he was the only one that actually played his instrument well. Despite that, however; it still sounded quite horrible and loud. In fact it was so loud that all of the surrounding Shadow Demons were in an extreme amount of pain. So much pain, in fact, that the Demons all began to spontaneously explode. One after another their heads exploded from the sheer pain that they were experiencing. By the time the Chaotix finished, nearly all of the Shadow Demons in a radius of 45 yards were completely annihilated.

At the sight of their comrades being completely decimated by the Chaotix's attack, the Demons all turned tail and ran, disappearing into the many shadows surrounding. As soon as this happened, the trio of detectives quickly regrouped with the others.

"Nice work," Rouge complimented them, "and to think; if you even bothered to practice playing those instruments of yours, you'd be considered lethal weapons…"

"But I do practice playing my instrument…" Espio said to himself.

"Thanks," said Vector, "…I think. But in any case, there sure were a lot of those weird creatures…"

"Yeah," Stealth agreed, "But what I want to know is where they all came from, and how is there appearance related to the emeralds giving us these powers?"

Everyone put their heads down and thought for a moment, before shooting straight up and glaring at both Shadow and Eggman. The two just stood there for a moment, wondering why everyone was looking at them, but then tensed up when they finally got the message. Eggman quickly turned to the side and looked up into the sky, whistling his SA2 theme as he rocked back and forth on his heels, and shadow just quickly looked down and to the side, sweating and blushing a bit in the embarrassment of him being caught red handed.

"Alright you two," said Sonic in an accusatory voice, "the jig is up. Just what is going on here, and how are you two connected to this mishap?"

"Uh, going on?" Eggman badly lied, "What makes you think that anything is going on, and that WE have anything to do with it?"

"Well," started Charmy, "you knew WHAT they were, HOW to defeat them, WHY the Emeralds gave us our powers…"

"Alright already," said Shadow, who absolutely hated the sound of Charmy when he rambles on, "We did know all of that, but we don't know where these creatures came from, what their true purpose is, where they came from, or why you all were chosen to receive the emeralds powers: we only know what our ally told us."

"Ally," Stealth asked, "and who would this 'ally be?"

"I can answer that," said a female voice from behind them.

The group all turned to see where the voice came from, only to have their jaws practically hit the ground to see that it came from a female echidna.

The echidna girl stopped a few feet away and bowed respectfully to the group.

"It is an honor to finally meet you all," she said. "My name is Crystal: I am the Guardian of the Ice Element, and the one chosen to seek out the Chosen of Chaos."

As she said this, Slam and Kat ran up to her and stood at either side of her.

"So I'm guessing that both of them are Chosen of Chaos as well?" asked Sonic

"Actually," Slam spoke up, "I'm da only one with da power, and I ain't even got all of it yet."

"Well," Rouge began, "while I'd love to sit around and discuss these little details, can we get down to the important stuff?"

"If you insist," Crystal said quietly, "Gather around, for this shall be a long story...  
-------------------------------------

Knuckles just stood in awe: he had forgotten just how beautifully breathtaking the Master Emerald chamber was.

The main altar was lifted off the ground by a strangely artistic-looking machine of some kind, and was surrounded by seven smaller, beautifully carved flower shaped alters, each of which held a large stone carved in the shape of the 7 Chaos Emeralds. The central alter was topped with a yellow ring with shards of emerald sitting inside of it.

The chamber was actually situated atop a large cavern cliff that was opened out towards the vast caves of the Lava Reef, with the volcano's opening directly overhead, giving the caves a beautiful bluish glow to them.

"I can't believe that I had forgotten about this place…" Knuckles mused, "I wonder why I ever decided to leave this beautiful place?"

As Knuckles mused, however, he absentmindedly placed his hand on a small yellow panel on the main emerald altar. When he did this, the panel sunk in like a switch, and the altar began to sink into the surface. Knuckles instantly jumped back when he saw this, but then noticed that the 7 smaller altars were doing the same. Soon all 8 had sunk beneath the level of the floor, and metallic shutters then closed, hiding them from sight.

As Knuckles tried to surmise what just happened, the ground beneath him began to shake. It was only slightly at first, but then Knuckles found that he couldn't keep his balance anymore because of the shaking and fell to the ground.

"W-w-w-what's g-going on?!" Knuckles asked as he bounced around. As soon as it had started, however, the shaking soon stopped.

Knuckles stood back up and then dusted himself off. As he did, he looked around to see what had happened. Much to his dismay, aside from the altars no longer being where they were, nothing had changed.

It was then that he heard it; an ever so slight whirring sound coming from below. Knuckles looked down to see that one of the hatches that the smaller shrines sank into was opening, and what appeared to be a small energy pylon encased in a glass dome rose out. Other hatches soon began opening, revealing more energy pylons, several computer towers, a control panel, and other miscellaneous research apparatuses. Aside from the machines that came out of the ground, support railings started to rise up from the edge of the large platform, and rose to a point where they reached many feet above.

"Wow," Knuckles thought out loud in amazement as he looked around, "this is new. I never knew that there was a research lab hidden underneath the shrine."

Knuckles walked up to a control console that had appeared near the center of the now enclosed platform and studied it very carefully. It seemed simple enough; the computer screen was just a blue blank except for the message _"Hand print scan input required..."_, and below the screen, where a keyboard would normally go, was a blue-glowing panel that had the imprint of a hand on it. Knuckles placed his gloved palm on the pad, causing a pressure censor inside to activate a glowing bar to be swiped underneath his hand.

After the scan completed, Knuckles looked to the screen to see if anything had happened. However, the screen just flashed the message _"Read Error: Unable to scan handprint data! Please remove any obstructions from scanner or hand and try again..."_ Knuckles tried again, except this time he removed the glove on his right hand. His hand under his gloved looked just like the way it was hinted when his gloves were on: He had only 3 fingers (thumb, pointer and pinky), and his knuckles were topped with what appeared to be 2 bone-like spikes.

The spikes, however, were lined with what appeared to be some kind of metallic substance that seemed to be fused into the bone. Knuckles didn't really know why his spikes were like that, and knew that it was only that part of his body that shared that trait, but he just figured that this was something that all Echidna's had in common. Another surprising feature was that the back of his hand had a strange birthmark in the shape of an Emblem. This was yet another thing that puzzled Knuckles, as it gave him a sort of feeling of importance. He had also dismissed this as well, thinking that it wasn't very important either.

Knuckles placed his now ungloved hand on the scanner pad, and once again the machine scanned his hand. When the scan was done, he removed his hand, put his glove back on, and looked to the monitor to see if it worked. Sure enough, the monitor flashed a new message.

"_Knuckles the Echidna: hand print scan confirmed..._

_Activating archive directory..."_

As soon as Knuckles finished reading the message, he heard the sound of another shutter opening behind him. He turned around to see that the center area where the Master Emerald Shrine had sunk into had re-opened, and a large containment pod rose out of it. The pod itself was easily twice Knuckles' size, and looked as though it could comfortably fit a human adult. The pod was mainly a blackish-red color that was lined near the top and base by silver metal. The door itself was a large oval dome of glass, tinted in a dark color that was similar to that of the main structure that was connected to an air-tight silver latch that encircled the entire opening, completely sealing it shut.

Knuckles advanced forward to inspect this new capsule, but quickly jumped back when steam suddenly blasted out from the seal of the hatch. He watched as the hatch slowly began to extend outward, and start to lift upwards. Thinking that there may be something unfriendly inside, Knuckles quickly got into a defensive stance, but his worries were soon put to rest when the capsule opened and nothing was inside. He approached the capsule again, but instantly stopped when he heard a whirring sound from above his head. There was a small camera embedded within the underside of the hatch that was watching him, seemingly attempting to scan him. After a few moments, the camera pointed straight at the ground and shot a beam of light out of it. The light beam then started to bend and rearrange, creating a hologram of something, or someone.

Knuckles' eyes widened, his mind having flashbacks to his earlier visions. The hologram before him showed none other than Locke, Knuckles' father.

"_Knuckles,"_ it began, _"If you are hearing this message, then I fear that the worst has happened. I haven't much time to explain everything to you in detail at the moment, but if you would please step into this VR chamber, everything will be made clear to you."_

At that moment, the face of the Hologram Locke seemed to change from a serious tone to that of a depressed, discouraged mood.

"_I wish that you did not have to be included in this war. As your father, I wanted the best for you, but I never really thought about what you really wanted. I was never a very good father, and I never really treated you with much respect. But know that, despite the way I acted, I always loved you. If I could go back in time and do things differently than I had originally done, I would have been a better father than I was..."_

At that point, an explosion could be heard in the background of the message, causing the Hologram Locke to jump in surprise.

"_...In any case, I promise that all your answers shall soon be revealed, all you need to do is enter the chamber in front of you. Knuckles, you have a destiny that is greater than you may realize: even greater than your status as the Guardian of the Master Emerald. You will, along side the Chosen of Chaos, revive the..."_

At that point, the message began to break up. The hologram started to turn into a static-y mess until it finally fizzled out.

Knuckles just stood there, completely confused about what just happened.

"This is all so confusing…" he said to himself, "A destiny that's greater than being the Guardian? I wonder, who are these Chosen of Chaos, and just who am I destined to revive?"

Knuckles then shook his head, getting these thoughts out of his mind. "If I want to find out just what is going on, then it seems as though I need to enter this chamber. I just hope that this isn't a trap..."

* * *

**Matt: And so ends chapter 7. I admit that this was some of my better work, but I feel as though I could have done better. I admit, I have yet to master writing stories, but I have improved over the years. I promise that the next chapter will be even better, and that is a promise that I can keep, because it's a full explanatory chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Knuckles, Sonic, Rouge, Vector, Charmy, Espio, Eggman, Shadow and Rouge, as well as any related theme and location are ©Sega™ and Sonic Team™. Locke the Echidna is ©Archie Comics™ (with some rights reserved by Sega™). Slam, Stealth, Crystal, the Shadow Demons, and all other themes and terms that Sega does not have a copyright on belong to me, Slam422.**

**Matt: That's all for now, so until next time: Later Days!**


	8. Explanation

**Matt: Wow, a chapter is actually up at least a week after the last. That's got to be a new record for me. I don't really have much to say, other than this is going to be a purely explanational chapter, with a small bit of action near the end. I need to warn you, though, that there is a bit of swearing in this chapter, mostly near the end. So if you do not like that kind of stuff, I apologize.**

**Also, before I forget, I am nearing my 100****th**** DeviantART submission, and I have a poll here on for you all to vote on what you would like to see. The poll will run until I submit Deviation number 99, after which I will close the polls and announce the winning choice. I would appreciate it if you all would go and vote on what you want to see. You can access the poll on the upper portion of my author page.**

**As always, the disclaimer is at the bottom. Now then let's get started...

* * *

**

Chapter 8: Explanation

Knuckles just stood there, staring at the pod as if it were an alien device. He was still a bit skeptical on the legitimacy of the pod in front of him: he had never known of it before, so why should he trust it now? Still, the thought of learning just what happened to the other Echidnas of Angel Island was too great, not to mention learning of other Echidnas existing anywhere else on the planet. He thought and thought of what he should do, and finally decided.

"This is my only chance…"

With those words, Knuckles threw all of his doubt to the wind and approached the capsule. Looking inside, he saw that the entire thing was completely padded by silky cushioning, with a break in the top that had a strange helmet-like item that hung from a thick wire.

With a gulp of nervousness and a deep breath, Knuckles quickly got into the chamber. He quickly adjusted himself so that he was facing out towards the opening. Knuckles had to admit that it felt more comfortable in there than he had realized, and managed to relax a bit. This feeling did not last long, however, as the door instantly shut and tightly latched.

Knuckles instantly panicked, and began beating against the glass in front of him. There were also calls of "Help" and "Get me out of this thing" mixed in with the constant banging against the inside of the capsule. However, the attempts proved futile to the seemingly indestructible pod and he soon tired.

"What is this thing made of?" Knuckles said in an exhausted voice. Just then, the glass in front of him started to glow, and a message appeared on a hologram screen as a computerized female voice began to talk.

"_I apologize for the sudden shutting of the door,"_ it said, _"it's a small glitch that never got fixed, I'm afraid. In any case, there is no need to worry. This capsule you are in is the VR Chamber: A virtual reality device used for the purpose of educating those of events that have transpired in the past by showing them what happened in full detail and explanation. I am called Circuit, and my primary function is to educate you, Knuckles, of your past heritage. I am also programmed to educate you of a mission that you must undertake in order to save the world from destruction..."_

Knux was taken aback by this statement. Sure, the chance to learn just what happened to his race was at hand, but what did this message mean by 'undertaking a mission'?

"_Now, please put on the helmet hanging above you so that I may begin my story..."_

Knuckles did as he was told, and pulled the helmet down over his head. It fit snuggly, but it contoured to the shape of his head as if it was made for him. The moment he put the helmet on, he felt a small shock from it. It wasn't really anything worth noting at first, but soon he found himself starting to get a bit tired.

"_I am currently using small electrical impulses to put you in a temporary state of meditation. You will not be able to hear or see the outside world until I finish. I realize that this may seem like I'm going a bit too fast with this, but time is not on our side. We shall start at the very beginning of this story, back during the beginning of existence, when the Master of Chaos and the demon Nazo began their fight..."  
-----------------------------------------------------------------_

Back in Station Square, everyone had their ears and eyes open on Crystal, who had used her Ice-based abilities to make a chair out of ice for her to sit in while she told her tale.

"Now then," she began in a slightly quiet voice, "our story begins with an ancient legend, one that was passed down in ancient echidna legend. Long ago, when existence first began, there was peace. The very first race of beings that existed knew nothing of war, hatred, or any other form of negativity. Everyone was willfully good and peaceful, and it was a true utopia."

"Sounds like a dream-come-true to me…" Eggman said in a joking manner. However, there was a small hint of truth to that statement as well.

"It wasn't a paradise for long, though." Crystal responded, "You see there were 2 powerful warriors; brothers, to be more precise, that were heralded and praised for their mastery over the very life force of their race: Chaos Energy."

"Wait," Slam interrupted, "Chaos Energy was deir life force?"

"Chaos Energy is the spark of life for all living beings. It flows through all of us, giving us the ability to even exist. In any case, the older brother, being the more powerful of the two, had trained himself to become a master of Chaos Energy so that he could be chosen by the people to lead them. He showed skill, speed, and power, but he was selfish. He cared not for the people around him, only for the power. However, when the day came that the people would choose their leader, they did not choose the elder brother, but the younger one instead. The people saw the lust for power in the elder's eyes, and knew that if he became leader, their utopia would be destroyed. The younger, however, tried his hardest to help people: not for power or glory, but just because he wanted to, and that he could."

"Oooh, DENIED…" Sonic said playfully. Everyone nodded their head in agreement.

"With the position of importance that he had been put in, the younger brother was given the 7 Elements of Chaos to use to build a better future, thus giving him untold power. The elder brother became enraged at his younger sibling for this, and cursed his brother for what he did. He swore then and there that he would have his revenge against his brother; and so, caused the first bit of corruption to enter into being. As time went on, the elder brother trained in seclusion so that he could become even more powerful and destroy his brother once and for all. However, as he trained, his obsession with outdoing his brother caused the corruption within him to begin to overtake him. It tainted his soul with evil, and the lust for destruction. Day after day, the corruption within him steadily worsened, until it completely corrupted him. However, it didn't stop there…"

"It didn't?" Espio asked in confusion.

"Geez, how corrupt can ya get if your soul had already been completely corrupted?" Charmy asked in his usual blunt manner.

"As the corruption in him continued to grow, he soon found that he could spread his corruption to others by sheer force of will. When he did this, he also found that the corruption that he sewed into people's hearts would increase on its own, and that he could re-absorb it back into himself when it got stronger; which, in turn, made him stronger. To put it bluntly: He became an infinite well of corrupting energy."

Everyone seemed to gulp in fear at the mere mention of that very phrase. For any entity to have an infinite amount of power was one thing, but when that power is in the hands of a being that is completely hell-bent on getting both power and revenge; it's enough to make even the bravest of warriors to cower in fear.

One thing was certain: if anyone ever got that kind of power again, the results would be catastrophic…

"This power, however, was not without its price. As he soon discovered that his very existence was beginning to warp the very fabric of reality; pulling and ripping it until it started to unravel all of existence into an eternal corrupted void. At this point, the creature was no longer who he used to be, and took on the alias of 'Nazo': which, in the ancient language of the time, literally meant 'Bringer of the End of Existence'…"

"Wait a second," interrupted Shadow, "doesn't the word 'nazo' mean 'unknown' in the Japanese language?"

"A mere coincidence, I assure you. In any case, the demon Nazo soon got his chance to take revenge. His former brother, now known as the Master of Chaos, went to face him and destroy him. The two clashed for what seemed like an eternity, but in the end had reached a stalemate. The surrounding scenery that had once been there when their battle started was now nothing more than a swirling void of corruption, and the only thing keeping the end of existence from coming was the existence of the Master of Chaos."

Crystal paused momentarily, bowing her head in an uneasy, unsure manner. Everyone leaned forward in eager anticipation for the story's ending.

"At that point in the legend," Crystal said uneasily, "the details get kind of sketchy from what is known, the Master of Chaos managed to somehow destroy the creature's physical form, and trapped it's essence and power in the form of a large, black emerald; the Shadow Emerald. However, he sacrificed himself in order to do so. With the destruction of Nazo, the worlds began to reform, but time itself had reset. The only link we have to this 'time before time' is a stone that depicted these events, the 7 Chaos Emeralds, and Master Emerald."

"So," Rouge began, "now we know about the legend of the Master of Chaos and the demon Nazo, but how does it tie in to those strange creatures that we fought, and what is our purpose for being Chosen of Chaos?"

"Those creatures are the remnants of Nazo's power. The Shadow Demons are created from the corruption of Nazo that seeps into the world, and their purpose is to spread corruption within that world until it begins to unravel reality within it, thus causing it to be completely wiped from existence. There is, however, a catch: the only way for a Shadow Demon to be created in a world is for someone in that world to summon it. The one's who summon them are promised great power in exchange for doing Nazo's dirty work. However, they themselves are then corrupted by the power and become nothing more than a Shadow Demon themselves. And I'm afraid that…"

"Don't tell me," Sonic interrupted, "let me guess: Someone was actually stupid enough to believe that Nazo would give him power."

"Actually," Slam said, "It's a 'she' dis time…"

"Yes," Crystal continued, "Black Rose; the villainess behind this atrocity. 300 years ago she was promised eternal youth and beauty by the creature in return for a favor…"

"And that favor was…?" inquired Shadow.

"...to release him from his prison between dimensions..."

"WHAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!" everyone shouted at almost the same time.

"An ancient legend states that: An emissary of Nazo will appear and create an army of followers to conquer the world. She will steal the 7 keys and bring them to the Gate of Eternity, releasing her master. It is unclear just what this 'Gate of Eternity' is, but I do that the Chaos Emeralds are the keys."

Sonic, Stealth, Rouge, and the Chaotix took out their emeralds, starting to understand just what was beginning to transpire.

"There is a catch, however, and is where you all fit into the picture. You see, the Chaos Emeralds are forged from the very essence of the Master of Chaos himself, or so the legends say. Because of this; they have a small amount of sentience. The emeralds will choose someone to safeguard their power by granting it to them, allowing them to perform elemental techniques and reach a form of power called the Chaos Form."

"Sort of like a Super Transformation?" Stealth inquired.

"Yes, but the level of power is not on that grand of a scale, being that the power comes from but a single emerald instead of all 7. This is a sort of failsafe that the emeralds have to prevent them from falling into the hands of those who would even consider releasing the creature."

"I got me a hunch that there's more to this than what you are saying…" Vector started to question, "Just what ARE we supposed to do with these powers?"

"According to the legend: 'When those chosen by the Emeralds are gathered, the Guardian shall lead them to the Center of Existence, and awaken the power of the one who holds the power of Purified Chaos; only he can destroy the demon, and bring eternal peace to all...' At least, that's what the legend says."

"Wait," Shadow interrupted, "by guardian, you don't mean…"

"Yes; the Guardian of the Master Emerald."

At this, everyone just fell silent. The same thought went surging through everyone's head, but only Rouge managed to say it aloud.

"That knuckle-headed moron is supposed to lead us?!"

As soon as Crystal heard this exact sentence, she was instantly offended, yet confused by her words.

"H-how dare you!" she scolded, "The Guardian is a noble being who would do all he could to protect the planet and prevent the Master Emerald from falling into evil hands; why would you say such a thing as if you knew him?!"

The answer was so obvious that everyone had to say it at the same time.

"That's because we DO know him."

Crystal just stood there, confused more than anything…

"Tails and I first met Knuckles during the whole Death Egg scare." Sonic explained, "He was unfamiliar with the world outside of the island, so he had never heard of Eggman's attempts of world domination. Because of that, Eggman managed to easily trick Knux into distracting us while he repaired the Death Egg. The distraction also let Eggman swipe the Master Emerald, and he used it to power the space station. However, by fusing the planet's Chaos Emeralds with the Angel Island set, I was able to unlock the Super Emeralds. Using their power, I was able to defeat Eggman, destroy the Death Egg once and for all, and get the Master Emerald back. Since then, Knuckles has been a big help in fighting against Eggman's constant attacks on the earth, but almost every single time Eggman has tricked Knuckles into helping him in one way or another. Not only that, but he also managed to let the Master Emerald break; the first being when Eggman released Chaos, and the second being his own fault."

"I-I just… I just can't believe that…"

"Well, believe what you want to believe," Rouge stated in her usual sassy tone, "What I want to know is how there are other echidnas out there other than Knuckles? I thought that they all, pretty much, died out."

Crystal hung her head in shame, hoping that the question wouldn't come up. But now that it was asked, she felt as though she had no choice but to answer.

"……According to our history records; after Chaos was sealed away by Tikal there were only an estimated total of 1600 Echidnas left. With their once grand city in ruins, they had lost all hope. Many were sent into depression, and other even considered suicide. However, a beacon of hope arose from the ruins: The 7 Chaos Emeralds split into 3 parts each. The first part, the emeralds representing the positive energies, were scattered across the planet. The second set, those representing the negative energies, were placed inside of an alternate realm only accessible through special ring portals that existed within the vicinity of the Emerald Shrine…"

"The Special Zone, correct?" asked Eggman.

"Yes, that is correct. The final set of emeralds, which are known as the Element Gems, were each given to one of seven noble and respected individuals. They were the first elemental guardians. Each of these warriors then left with their followers, and traveled great distances until they found a place to build new, hidden villages. The remaining echidnas remained with the shrine as the land around them was raised into the sky; becoming the floating island that you all know as Angel Island.

As time passed, the leaders decided to pass down the gems to those who thought would be worthy of possessing the power, and they took over leadership of their tribe. The new leaders did the same when they reached old age, and so on and so forth until this very day. In fact, I am the 69th Ice element guardian."

Kat quickly shot Slam a "Don't even say it" look, knowing that he would take the opportunity to make a rude comment. Slam took the hint and kept quiet, but snickered to himself at the obvious joke.

"It is told that the Chosen of Chaos must seek out these elemental gems and infuse them within the Chaos Emeralds, allowing them to unlock their true power so that they may stand up against the tyranny of Nazo and his evil forces."

"So," Espio surmised, "that means we need to travel to each of the 7 villages to retrieve these elemental gems so that we can take on Black Rose."

"Yes, but it won't be that easy. In order to prevent just anyone from getting the gems, each of the guardians has a test that you will need to pass first. If you can pass it, then you will be awarded the gem. However, these tests will not be a simple matter; they will push you to your mental and physical limits, and are torture to those who are not ready to face them."

At this, everyone took a big, nervous gulp.

"For now, however, we must meet with this 'Knuckles' person you told me about; he will play the most important role of all in this."

The group nodded in agreement. Crystal got out of her seat and, with a quick motion, absorbed the ice chair into her body. Everyone stood in shock of what happened.

"Don't seem so surprised," Crystal said playfully, "I am, after all, an ice guardian. You will all be able to use similar techniques once your true power has been awakened."

"Don't be so sure about that!" said a familiar, sinister yet seductive voice. Everyone quickly looked around to see where the voice came from, and Charmy was the one who spotted it.

"Guys," he blared as he pointed to the top of a building, "up there!"

Everyone quickly looked to where the hyper-active bee was pointing to see that there was a hooded figure standing atop the building.

"Black Rose," exclaimed Crystal, "but I thought that we chased you off!?"

"You didn't think that you could defeat me so easily," said Black Rose "did you? I wasn't even using a fraction of my power against you. I merely waited until you met up with the Chosen of Chaos so that I could take care of you all in one fell swoop!"

"Wow," Sonic said in a playful surprised tone, "A villain that actually doesn't play around. Eggman could learn a lot from her…"

"I heard that you insufferable little brat!" Eggman barked back.

"You WILL be defeated, Black Rose," Crystal said defiantly "the Master Emerald Guardian and the Chosen will see to that!"

"Ha ha haaa," Black Rose giggled, "you are behind the times my little ice rat. I took care of the Master Emerald Guardians long ago. And while I may not have gotten the Master Emerald, thanks to that fool Locke, I had ensured that the legend will never come to pass by riding this world of every last Guardian Echidna. And now, once the Chosen of Chaos are gone, nothing will stop the return of my master!"

"You're da one whose outta da loop," Slam said with a bit of pride in his voice, unaware that what he was saying was going to make their lives a living hell, "In case ya haven't heard; ya missed one. Knuckles'll send yer Shadow Demons packin', and'll beat ya…"

At this point, everyone quickly ran over to Slam and slapped their hands over his mouth to shut him up, with several instances of "shut up," and "you idiot," being heard.

"Missed one," Black Rose said with a bit of confusion, "what do you mean missed…"

That's when she realized it, having a small flashback to when she faced off against Locke so many years ago, and remembered a single phrase that he had said…  
------------------------------

"_You may kill me here," an exhausted, beaten and bloodied Locke said, "and you may have destroyed all the guardians on the island, but know this: even when I and my kind are gone, there will still be a glimmer of hope left, and that hope will fulfill the prophecy and awaken the Master of Chaos..."  
_------------------------------

_Locke,_ Black Rose cursed in her mind. She clenched her fist as her anger summoned an aura of corrupted energies around her. _Damn you, that's what you meant by 'a glimmer of hope': this 'Knuckles' person. He must have been the guardian that is destined to lead the Chosen._

As her anger grew, so did the aura of energy around her. It slowly grew larger, and larger, until the entire sky seemed to darken from the energy she was giving off. And even then; it did not stop growing.

_Locke, you bastard, you have made my life even more of a living hell than it already has been! Even in death you taunt me, laugh at me, and outsmart me at every turn!_

The energy coming off of her now was unbelievable. The ground actually started to quake as the aura of energy shot into the sky and created clouds that blotted out the sun. The heroes soon found themselves unable to stand as the earth shook even more violently. The darkness coming from her was spreading so fast and growing so powerful, that Shadow, who had the ability to feel the power of others through sheer force of will, was made so sick by the negativity coming off of the dark priestess that he was getting sick from it.

"You may have bested me at every turn you filthy bastard," Black Rose said aloud as she reached into her robes and pulled out 3 familiar, multi-colored gems, "but **I** have the upper hand this time! So long as I possess these 3 Chaos Emeralds, the Chosen will never fully awaken, AND ALL YOUR INTERFERENCE WILL BE FOR NAUGHT!!!!!"

As Black Rose cursed at her old rival, a vortex began to form in the clouds above the city. The winds whipped and howled as a violent storm of torrential energy beat against the city. The citizens went screaming in terror and ran for their lives as a giant creature began to form inside of the vortex.

The creature seemed to be robotic in nature. Its design was fairly basic, being similar to something that Eggman would design himself. Its large body was made of black and silver metals that had many grooves in it that flowed with red, corrupted energy. Where it's hands would be were 2 giant dome-shaped claws, and it's head was a large cylinder with a single, glowing, red eye. The most outstanding feature was that a strange mask was connected to its chest. The mask was red with several white markings on it, had a hexagonal shape to it with a single 'horn' sticking out on the top, and had it's eye holes glowing an ominous yellow color.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Now this city shall fall into ruins, and the Chosen shall all be destroyed! Go, Master Juggernaut, Maskor, DESTROY EVERYTHING!!!"

And with that, Black Rose flew off into the sky, but not before tossing the Blue and Yellow Chaos Emeralds to the monstrous behemoth that was the Master Juggernaut. The monster roared to life when it got its prize, and instantly eyed the group of heroes. At this point, the same thought passed through the minds of every single one of the heroes as they stood there with their jaws on the floor:

_We are __**SO**__ screwed…  
-----------------------------------------------------------------_

Knuckles flew through the warp of cyberspace as he watched the ages pass. He had witnessed an award-winning dramatization of the fight between Nazo and the Master of Chaos, the rise and fall of the echidna civilization, the events that led up to the creation of the 8 hidden tribes, and more importantly: his past. Knuckles learned that, as an egg, his father stimulated his unborn body with Chaos Energy from the Master Emerald, giving him his connection to it. He also saw how his father infused his skeletal structure with Chaosanium; a rare titanium alloy that is reinforced by Chaos Energy, making it invincible (thus explaining the silver streaks in his knuckle spurs. He also saw all of his training sessions and lessons that he had been taught during his childhood, before he was alone.

Knuckles was so astounded and mesmerized by the sheer level of accuracy and detain in this virtual realm that he almost forgot that it was all an illusion played out in a digital realm.

As Knuckles flew through the digital vortex, a being appeared next to him; it took on the form of a blue-skinned female that wore a black, form fitting suit that had circuitry on it that pulsed with a light blue energy, and wore a black helmet with similar circuitry on it. This was Circuit, the main A.I. for the V.R. Chamber.

"_So,"_ it said in a partially digitized-sounding voice, _"What do you think of your past so far?"_

"I am very grateful for what you've shown me here." Knuckles replied, "Thanks to you, I now know that I'm not the last Echidna on the planet, and I now know why I was chosen to guard the Master Emerald. Such pain and destruction would be upon us all if not for the Master of Chaos' sacrifice, and now I know why I was chosen to guard the Master Emerald. If I don't, then the world may fall into darkness forever…

"_It's not just that, Knuckles,"_ Circuit replied, _"Your true purpose goes much deeper than just preventing the Master Emerald from falling into evil hands. I think you would understand it better if you saw what happened on that day..."_

Knuckles didn't have a chance to say anything, as he was instantly warped again. A blinding light engulfed him as he felt his body begin to slow down. Soon he felt his feet touch solid ground as a wind began to blow around him. As the light began to fade, he could hear the sounds of a fierce battle; swords clanging, shields breaking, buildings falling, and then, when the light finally disappeared, Knuckles could only stare in shock at the current sight that fell before him.

Devastation; that was the only word for it: he was now standing in the middle of a battlefield that was currently in the midst of a ferocious war. All around him were the bodies of Echidna soldiers who had all been killed, some of which even had their heads sliced clean off. Knuckles looked on to the horror of the battle to see many buildings in ruins, fires burning out of control, and many Echidna warriors being taken down one by one by a strange shadowy army.

"_Those creatures are Shadow Demons,"_ Circuit said as she reappeared next to Knuckles, _"monsters born from corrupted energies. They are, almost literally, the children of the demon Nazo."_

Knuckles could only sit back and watch the M-rated horror that was unfolding before him. No one was safe from these monstrous creatures, not even the women or children. The monsters destroyed all that got in their way as they converged on a single point: a single cave entrance that lead into the mountain.

Just then, Knuckles felt himself being warped again, and this time he ended up inside of the Hidden Palace Shrine. All of the altars were currently in their safe house under the floor, and all of the machines were currently up. Knuckles then saw his father, Locke, and his young self arguing.

"But dad," insisted Young Knuckles, "I wanna help fight!"

"And I already told you that it's not an option," Locke reprimanded, "you're the one that their after! Now get into the capsule where it's safe!"

"No I don't wanna!"

"Well, too bad!"

Locke grabbed Young Knuckles' wrist and, in a single, swift motion, tossed him into the chamber. The door quickly shut behind him to prevent Young Knuckles from getting out, and then began to sink into the ground. Knuckles could only watch on in disgust at what he saw, thinking that his father didn't really care much about him, but these thoughts were soon put to rest at the next thing he heard:

"I'm sorry, my son; I wish that it didn't have to come to this. But maybe you will have a better life if you never know who I was, or who you are. The chamber will erase all of your memories of your past; and only your name and species will be intact in your mind. When the time comes, when you're ready, maybe you will understand why I did what I had to do…"

As the capsule finally sank into the ground, the room quaked ferociously as the wall leading into the next room was completely destroyed. And there, moving through the dust and smoke was a familiar robed figure. The figure then removed her hood and revealed her identity.

"Black Rose…" Locke said with a voice of malice and hatred for the evil priestess.

"Black Rose?" Knuckles wondered cluelessly.

"Hey there, Locke," Black Rose said casually, "long time no see!"

"Cut the chit-chat you heartless woman. I know why you're here, and you're too late: I've locked up the Master Emerald in its indestructible holding chamber. There's no way in, and no way for you to open it."

"Oh my, you sure do have such the temperament. I know that this is all going to end in us fighting, but can't we ever start out our conversations without any ill will between us? So then, how is that nice old man Athair… Oh wait, I forgot; I killed him."

"YOU BITCH!!!"

Locke immediately dashed forward from where he was standing, his fist drawn back and ready to strike. Black Rose just stood there, completely calm and unflinching. When Locke finally struck, she quickly moved her hand up and blocked the blow with a single finger. Locke's eyes widened a bit in surprise, and tried again and again; flailing his arms and legs in a flurry of punches and kicks. However, every blow he dealt was easily negated by an unbelievable amount of single-fingered blocks by Black Rose.

Knuckles watched on as his father gave it his all against the evil priestess, and never seemed to get any headway.

"This is nuts…" Knuckles said in amazement, "Whoever this Black Rose person is, she's unbelievable…!"

"_She is our main enemy,"_ Circuit informed, _"300 years ago, she was the priestess leader of the Darkness Echidna tribe, but was a vain and selfish individual. She craved power and immortality, so much so that she made a deal with the demon Nazo: In return for helping him escape his interdimensional prison, he would grant her immortal life, eternal beauty, and unlimited power. What she didn't know, however, is that she would become nothing more than a soulless puppet."_

Knuckles listened to Circuits information, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the fight before him. Locke was going full tilt, trying everything he could think of to take Black Rose down, but it was to no avail. Soon he began to tire, and stopped attacking to take a breather.

"Are you quite done?" Black Rose said in an annoyed voice.

Locke just gave her a death glare as he struggled to catch his breath after his failed attack barrage.

"I guess that's a yes. Alright then, let's get this over with. I am, after all, a very busy conqueror."

"You are nothing more than a puppet," Locke said with hatred in his voice, "and Nazo is the one pulling your strings."

"A puppet, am I? Well then, can a puppet do THIS?!"

At this point, Knuckles blinked. When his eyes opened, he nearly fell over in shock at the sight that lay before him.

Locke was completely beaten, bloodied and bruised, and was lying on the ground with only enough strength left in him to prevent himself from slipping into unconsciousness. Black Rose was standing over him, an evil grin on her face. It was clear that she enjoyed every nanosecond of the beat-down that she had just given.

"You see; you can't win. My power is infinite and unmatched by anything that you would ever be able to offer. Now will you give me the Master Emerald, or suffer the consequences!"

Locke just lay there, giving a weakened glare at the monster. A few tense seconds passed by, but every one seemed to be an eternity for Knuckles, who was on edge for every single moment. Then, for some unknown reason, Locke's death glare was replaced by a weakened laugh.

"You may kill me here," he said, "and you may have destroyed all the guardians on the island, but know this: even when I and my kind are gone, there will still be a glimmer of hope left, and that hope will fulfill the prophecy and awaken the Master of Chaos..."

Black Rose just gave Locke a quizzical look as he weakly brought his arms up, revealing a strange device on his left arm. He pressed a small, red button, and the entire cavern started to glow.

"W-what's going on?!" Black Rose demanded, "What did you just do?!"

"An energy pulse: one that is strong enough to send you and all of your evil monsters packing. And as long as the Master Emerald remains in the Hidden Palace Shrine, neither you, nor any of your corrupted allies, will ever be able to set foot on this sacred ground. I just regret that I will not see the day that you are finally destroyed…"

At that, Locke's body finally gave in under the strain of his injuries, and he passed away. As soon as his passing was over, a huge pulse of energy washed over the entire area, glowing brighter and brighter until Knuckles was completely blinded…  
------------------------------

The lights flashed and the machines whirred with vigorous intensity as the capsule finally opened. Knuckles took off the helmet and stepped out of the chamber, closing the hatch as he did. A small projector then came up out of the floor, and Circuit appeared as a hologram in front of him.

"_Knuckles, what you have just seen is all that my sensors were able to record since my creation. After the energy pulse engulfed the island, my data absorption devices instantly fried from the energy surge. I was unable to see what damage Black Rose had caused the earth during the short 3 years that you were within my chamber."_

"Actually," Knuckles said in a matter-of-factly tone, "the Earth is actually a very peaceful place. As far as I know, if she had any plans of launching a full-out attack on the planet, she never put them into affect. The only threat that I know about is Dr. Eggman, and Sonic has repeatedly stopped him from all of his attacks."

Just then, warning sirens began to blare throughout the caves. Knuckles jumped in fear and took a defensive stance.

"Circuit, what's going on?!"

"_One moment, I'll check it out."_

Circuit closed her eyes and concentrated. The computers and scanners all sprung to life and began to send her data through a wireless connection in the V.R. Capsule. It didn't take long for her to realize the danger, and almost spazzed out when she did.

"_Oh no; Black Rose is on her way here! She must have somehow discovered that you survived her attack and is on her way here to finish the job! ETA is approximately 15 minutes..."_

"Bring her on," Knuckles taunted, "I'll take her out for all she's done!"

"_Not advisable: in your current state, you wouldn't last more than a second against her. Quickly, go get the Master Emerald and bring it here. If you place it in the shrine, I'll be able to activate the energy pulse and prevent her from stepping foot on the island."_

Knuckles nodded, and ran off as fast as he could. When he was out of Circuit's sight, she let out a worried sigh.

"_Please be careful, my friend..."

* * *

_

**Matt: And there we go. Not really the best quality, but I guess it'll do for now. I can always come back later and fix up any error that I may have made.**

**Disclaimer: Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Eggman, the Chaotix, the Chaos Emeralds, Angel Island, and any other related place, item or character I may have forgot to mention are all © SEGA™ and Sonic Team™. Locke and Athair are also © to Archie Comic Publications™. Slam, Stealth, Crystal, Black Rose, all the Shadow Demon breeds, Circuit and the story itself (along with anything else that I didn't mention) all belong to me, Matthew "Slam422" Thomas Weddell.**

**Matt: I'll be uploading a chapter of Kirby: Beginnings next, and then I'm going to be working on my comic, "Sonic: Mushroom Kingdom Conspiracy", for a short time, I'll be working on the next chapter of this story on and off during that time, so it may be a bit of time before it's done (However, I promise that I will NOT put it off for half a year again...).**

**Until next chapter, later days!**


	9. Fight for Survival

* * *

Chapter 9: Fight for Survival

* * *

A dark shadow was cast over Station Square by the giant mecha that stood so high up above the tops of even the tallest of skyscrapers. The monstrous machine let out a terrifying mechanical roar that echoed for miles away. The people of the city were in a panic as they attempted to escape the monster, running every which way in hopes that they could avoid the beast's wrath. However, several brave souls remained behind, in hopes that they could destroy the demonic construct.

"That thing is huge!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise.

"It definitely dwarfs anything I've built," Eggman agreed, "Except maybe the Death Egg…"

"It's the Master Juggernaut," Crystal stated, "A mech warrior that the Ice Echidnas top scientists had designed. It was intended to be used during the Great War against the Dragons, but the war had ended before its construction could begin. Black Rose must have gotten her hands on the blueprints and created a Shadow Demon version of it. And if that happened, then…"

Crystal's eyes shot wide open in realization: she knew that Black Rose's obtainment of the blueprints meant that she was able to breach the security of her tribe's defenses. And if that happened, it meant that her village has fallen. Tears began to well in her eyes as she was overcome with grief: while she was running around the planet looking for the chosen, her village became victimized by the evil priestess. Her friends, her family; all of them were in an untold amount of danger. She felt so guilty; feeling as though this was all her fault. Her grief caused her to fall to her knees and begin to break down in tears. Everyone just stared at her: they didn't quite know what had just happened, but they could tell that Crystal was obviously upset about something.

Before anyone could do anything, Slam instantly walked up to her and placed his hand on her back in a comforting manner. Crystal instantly shot up in surprise, not expecting the sudden contact, and looked over to him in a confused manner.

"Hey," he said in a concerned voice, "don't be upset. I promise dat everything's gonna be okay. I'll help with whateva's wrong."

"…thank you; you don't know how much this means to me…"

"Ey, what are friends for? I admit dat I ain't known ya all dat long, but I feel as though we're gonna be lookin' out for each other quite a bit. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a mecha dats gotta be taken care of…"

"Slam, wait, you don't know what that thing is capable of!"

But it was too late: Slam dashed forward, drew his fist back and landed a devastating knuckleduster right into the large foot of the Master Juggernaut. Surprisingly, the force of his punch was strong enough to actually puncture the thick titanium armor, leaving a fist-sized hole in it.

But he wasn't done just yet, though. He withdrew his fist from the hole and instantly landed another blow against the armor with his other hand. He continued doing this, landing punch after punch, until he finally stopped. He then grabbed a hold of the broken portion of the armor and ripped it straight off, revealing the inside of the mechanical monster.

"I'll climb to da top 'a dis thing and see if dere's a way ta shut it down from da inside!" said Slam as quickly hopped in and disappeared into the darkness that was the inside of the machine. Before anyone could go in after him, however, the monster lifted up its foot and smashed it down; causing a huge tremor that demolished the nearby buildings, tore up the ground around where it stomped, and knocked the heroes off balance.

"Distract it?" Stealth asked as he started to panic, "The damn thing's thousands of times bigger than us! How the hell are we supposed to…?"

Before Stealth could finish his statement, however, a huge explosion rocked the surface of the Master Juggernaut. Everyone looked up into the skies to see several G.U.N. fighter jets, air combat robots, and air battleships flying into the cities airways.

"I withdraw my previous statement…"

--

In the command bridge of the G.U.N. flagship, the G.U.N. Commander watched the jets launch their missiles and fire their gattling cannons at the monstrosity through a laser screen monitor. As he watched, the door behind him opened up and a generic G.U.N. soldier quickly ran up to him and saluted.

"What's the status on the evacuation of Station Square?" the Commander asked.

"90 of the city's population have been safely and successfully evacuated from the city," the soldier reported, "and our troops have started their assault on the giant robot. However, it seems as though our attacks are doing nothing against it."

"I see, and what about Rouge and Shadow; any word from them yet?"

"No sir; not since they went on radio silence. However, we have tracked their progress and have discovered that they ARE in Station Square."

"Attempt to open a communication link to them!"

--

The gang of heroes looked on as the Master Juggernaut swatted with its giant clawed arms at the many robots and jets as if they were flies. One of the jets tried to get close to the head of the robot, but it was quickly shot down by a blast from a turret on the monsters shoulder.

"They're getting their butts handed to them on a silver platter!" Stealth said in worry, "I just hope they can hold out until Slam is able to reach the generator and deactivate it…"

"Yo, Eggman," Sonic called, "Why not call in your battle fleet to help G.U.N. out?"

Eggman jumped slightly when Sonic called to him, mostly because he was watching G.U.N. attack, but then slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner…

"Aw crud," Eggman said, dejected that he did not even realize it, "I forgot: I have my own army to combat this menace!"

As Eggman pulled out a small communications device to call his army in, Shadow's bracelet began to beep. He pulled his arm up and pressed a small, almost totally concealed button on it.

"Shadow," came the voice of the commander, "come in: what's going on down there?!"

"Commander," Shadow replied, "the situation is currently intense; so much so that even Eggman is helping us. I can't really explain anything right now, but you need to have your troops stop their frontal assault in favor of a more distracting tactic."

"What do you mean?"

"One of our allies is currently fighting his way through the inside of the robot to remove the 2 Chaos Emeralds that are powering it. We need to keep it distracted and lure it away from the city so that it doesn't destroy everything while he's getting the emeralds."

"Understood; I'll send the word out to the fighter jets to start luring it away from the city. Shadow, be careful down there…"

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of the leg of the Master Juggernaut, Slam was continuing to work his way up the giant mech. While inside; he discovered that the robot was so large there had to be a crew of worker Shadow Demons doing constant matinence to the inner mechanics and circuitry to keep it running smoothly. Because of this, there were many ladders, pathways and scaffoldings to make maneuvering through the inside much easier.

At this time, Slam was standing in front of a large hologram screen that was projecting a map of the inner corridors of the mecha.

"Let's see," he thought aloud, "I'm down here in da leg, about half way up, and da energy core is..."

Slam pointed his finger at where his current location was, and directed it upwards to the torso area until his finger landed on a dot that had the words 'Power Room' written in red letters above it.

"…dere. Looks like I'm gonna need ta get up to da chest 'a dis thing. An' I'm thinking that if I keep folowin' dis path up, I'll reach it in no time!"

Slam started to run up the pathway, up a flight of stairs, and across several catwalks and up several ladders. He was confronted by several Grunts on the way up, but several electric punches took care of them in an instant. After a while, Slam finally managed to reach the top, and stood in front of a large air lock.

"Dis must be da only way up to da chest," Slam said as he drew his fist back, "I just hope it ain't a trap…"

With a mighty swing; Slam sent the door flying straight off its hinges out into the open air, almost falling out along with it. He looked out to see that he was already above most buildings, and he had only made it to the knee joint of the mech. With a nervous gulp, he swung himself out and quickly grabbed onto a nearby ladder rung & started working his way up. As he did, he watched as G.U.N. fighter jets were being shot out of the sky one by one by the many turrets that were mounted on the chest of the Master Juggernaut. It took him several minutes, but he finally managed to reach a catwalk that lead inside to the torso area. Punching the door open, he was instantly met with a volley of fire from armored Magic Grunts, which kept Slam from entering.

"Wanna play hard ball, do ya?" Slam asked, "Well den; let's play!"

Slam held his hand out with his hand open & palm facing up, and began to charge up a sphere of electrical energy. When it was large enough, he through it inside and quickly retreated back out. The sphere bounced in and eventually rolled to a stop in the middle of a group of Shadow Demons and began to slowly blink.

One of the Magic Grunts leaned in to inspect it, but before he realized what it was the sphere exploded like an electric grenade, destroying the Shadow Demons in the area. When he heard this, Slam quickly pulled a pair of Uzi's out of his backpack, and ran in with his guns blazing, somehow managing to purify each bullet shot by charging his energy through the guns.

As he made his way further up the torso section, even more explosions against the near impenetrable armor of the Master Juggernaut rattled the inside so much that Slam was constantly being knocked off balance, and he noticed that it was also getting to be more frequent.

"What in da name of da Good Lord is goin' on out dere?!"

* * *

Outside the Master Juggernaut had become quite the dogfight. Eggman's mech flyers had finally joined the battle, but it did very little against the mechanical behemoth. Of course they weren't attempting to destroy it, only to get it away from Station Square. Unfortunately that plan was not going very well, as planes and robotic flyers were being shot down faster than they could launch.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the remaining people in the city were being evacuated and protected from Shadow Demons by Sonic and the others.

Several people were trapped in a corner by a Buzzsquito, but a quick fire burst from Stealth took care of the problem. As soon as he did, however, an energy burst hit him from behind, knocking him to the pavement. He looked up just in time to see a Magic Grunt with an energy ball charged up and ready. However, the Grunt didn't get a chance to fire it off, as Sonic bashed it with a homing attack. When he landed, however, he noticed that something was wrong with Stealth: His body was phasing in and out.

After his body stopped phasing, Sonic quickly went to his fallen comrade's side.

"Yo, Stealth," Sonic said with worry as he helped his fallen friend up, "you okay, buddy?"

"Y-yeah," Stealth said weakly, "I'm… I'm fine…"

"Are you sure? Just what happened to you anyway?"

"It was a side effect of my conversion into an Ultimate Life Form Prototype: My molecular structure is unstable, and if I take too many hits in battle, or take a strong enough hit, my body will be ripped apart atom by atom until there is nothing left…"

"Whoa, no wonder you are always running from fights."

"Please don't tell the others; I don't want them to worry about me…"

"But if you told them, then maybe they could help figure out a way to help you…"

"I'm not the kind of guy who likes it when people worry about him. And besides, there are more important things to worry about right now!"

Sonic just stood there for a moment, and then nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright then," he said, "If that is what you want, then I'll keep my lips zipped about this. You go and make sure that everyone gets evacuated to safety, alright?"

Stealth merely nodded and went to go help the people he just saved get to safety. Meanwhile, Rouge was flying overhead fighting enemies in the sky. She was having difficulty using her newly discovered ice powers (which she still hated having for some reason), so she decided to take on the demons without it. She quickly drill kicked a Buzzsquito out of the air, followed up with a quick punch to a nearby Guller. As the bird-like Shadow Demon fell, she looked down to see Stealth following behind several humans as fast as he could. Of course, she wasn't down there when Sonic and Stealth had their little talk, so…

"Why that no-good, two-timing, good-for-nothing coward; he's deserting us!!"

…told ya…

* * *

Back at the Master Emerald shrine, Tikal still lays unconscious on the ground next to the large crater after being hit in the head with a chunk of metal. As she lays there, she is unaware of the presence of an intruder who is hoping to take the Master Emerald and destroy the floating island & all who are on it.

In an instant; the figure of Black Rose came zooming in from the distance, stopping right above the large crater that was made from the laser blast of the Juggernaut that was there before. The demon Echidna priestess looked around the clearing and saw the battle ravage and the scrap metal scattered around, and took notice of Tikal.

"So," she said to herself as she floated down to the ground, "there ARE more Guardian Echidnas left; I must have missed a few when I was last here. Well, it's an easily rectifiable situation, but first thing is first: The Master Emerald."

Black Rose floated slowly over the ground as she approached the emerald shrine. She saw how the emerald gleamed brightly on its shrine, and got brighter as the demoness approached. Black Rose approached the stairway and proceeded up to the shrine, and when she reached the top, she placed her hand on the emerald as if it was hers.

"How I've dreamed that this day would come. With the limitless energies of the Master Emerald at my disposal; reviving Master Nazo will be but a mere technicality."

However, the Emerald started to glow defiantly, and a burst of energy shocked the demon priestess, causing her to draw her hand back in both pain and shock.

"Damn," she cursed, "that was painful. Apparently the emerald seems to have some sort of sentience to it. And here I thought it was nothing more than a shiny rock. Still, my will is stronger than this stone, and with the proper _**persuasion**_, I can make it do my bidding."

Black Rose lifted her right hand up and formed a dark sphere of energy in it. She then held it out and let the energy pass through into the master emerald in the form of a strange, black smoke. This caused the emerald to begin to glow with a dark aura, bringing out an evil smile on the evil Echidna's face. However, this smile was soon wiped off her face as a bolt of energy hit her in the back; knocking her off balance and disrupting her attempt at seizing the emerald.

Black Rose looked back to see who fired that shot at her, but was confused when there was no one standing there.

"What in the…? But, I could have sworn…"

She didn't have much time to wonder, however, as a powerful fist came crashing into the side of her face, sending her flying off a few feet before she landed painfully on the ground and slid to a stop. After a few moments of lying still on the ground, she managed to shake the blow off and push herself up. Looking over to the shrine, her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw a red Echidna standing there with his fist extended outward.

"Sorry," he said, "but the Master Emerald stays with me!"

_Locke,_ Black Rose wondered to herself, _but that's impossible: I killed him with my own hands!_

"You seem to be speechless. Well then, let me introduce myself: I am Knuckles the Echidna; the current guardian of the Master Emerald. I believe you know my father, Locke?"

"Locke had a son?" Black Rose instantly responded in surprise.

"Yeah, and I know about what you did to my father. He may have been a jerk to me when I was just a kid, but he was still my father, and I'm going to avenge his death!"

Black Rose stood back up and dusted herself off. She looked at Knuckles with an evil smile on her face before dashing forward at high speed. Knuckles was caught off guard as Black Rose returned his punch with one of her own, throwing the red Echidna back. The evil priestess continued to pursue the flying echidna and followed up wit a swift kick upward, sending him flying into the sky, she then warped up and bashed him down with a powerful blow to the gut, causing Knuckles to plummet into the ground, leaving a small crater from his impact. Black Rose then pulled out both of her blades and rushed down towards the ground where Knuckles laid. She impacted the ground blades first, causing an impact shockwave that kicked up a huge amount of dust and debris; completely covering the area in a sort of "smokescreen".

Just before this happened, Tikal finally started to stir from her place on the ground. She slowly started to sit up as she grabbed her head in pain. As she slowly began to come to her senses, the shockwave from Black Rose's impact hit, causing her to jump in surprise. She quickly got up and looked through the dust and debris to see the evil Echidna with her blades in the ground just under a large hole.

"Damn," Black Rose cursed, "he got away. But he'll be back for his precious emerald for sure…"

It was then that the evil priestess took notice of Tikal. Without even saying a word, she dashed over and lifted her blade over her head, ready to strike the newly-revived Echidna Princess. Tikal could only just get her arms up in defense as Black Rose began to bring her blade down. However, an explosion of earth erupted between them as Knuckles came bursting out of the ground and sent Black Rose flying skyward with a powerful uppercut.

Before Black Rose got a chance to regain her senses from the strike, she was sent flying even further up as Knuckles sent a bolt of lightning to strike her from below. Knuckles then quickly grabbed a hold of Tikal, ran to the Emerald Shrine with her, took the Master Emerald and stored it away in his hammer space, and then dashed off into the jungle with Tikal stumbling in confusion behind him.

Black Rose fell from the sky and landed face-first with a large 'thud', leaving an impression of her in the ground. She laid there for a moment before lifting up her left arm and slamming the palm of her hand down on the ground. This caused her to exude black electricity sparks from her hand into the ground. She then did the same with her other hand, only seemingly more intense. The ground seemed to rumble and quake under her as the energy in her body quickly increased to unbelievable levels, causing an aura of corrupted energies to form around her body. Suddenly, her head shot up, revealing that her eyes now glowed red with anger, and looked into the Jungle ahead.

"I've had enough humiliation for one day," she said in a warped voice, "I'm not going to hold anything back! EVEN IF I HAVE TO DESTROY THIS ISLAND; KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA IS GOING TO DIE!!"

And with a loud sonic boom, she flew off into the jungle to track down the unsuspecting Knuckles, and finish him off…

* * *

**Matt: …I have no excuse to why this took several months to complete other than laziness and distraction. I won't make any more promises, but I'm going to keep working on this until it is finished; no matter how long it takes!**

**In any case, the next chapter will (hopefully) finish up the first story arc, and then there will be either 2 or 3 filler chapters after before we begin the second story arc.**

**Until then; Later Days!**


	10. Felling the First Few Felons

**Slam422: Before we begin, I just want to give you all a quick heads up on something. If you've been following my art account, you'll know that I updated Slam & Crystal's design a bit. I've also done the same with Stealth, though I have yet to post his pic.**

**In any case, the new designs for Slam and Stealth will be making there appearance in this chapter in a sort of "plot hole" kind of thing: where it happens but isn't explained as to how it happened. I hope that you all won't find this too sudden of a change…**

**Just a quick warning to you all: this chapter is going to be a long one (at least, long when compared to other chapters I've written) because it will (finally) end the first story arc of Knuckles Quest. After this will be about 2 or 3 "intermission" chapters before we begin the "Ice" story arc. I hope that you all will enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you in the foot notes.**

**Oh, and just to let you know, I'll be referring to myself as "Slam422" instead of "Matt" in the head and foot notes from now on, mostly due to the fact that I want to differentiate myself from my Author Character, as we are 2 separate beings, after all…**

* * *

Chapter 10: Felling the First Few Felons

* * *

Slam went flying back into the wall from a powerful strike by a Magic Grunt. He was still fighting his way up the torso section of the Master Juggernaut, aiming to get at the power core and retrieve the 2 emeralds there, but he wasn't having much luck getting through some of these more powerful Shadow Demons. One of them, a large, humanoid demon with a large crab-like claw in place of its left hand, rushed forward and grabbed Slam in a vice grip. It put as much pressure onto him as it could in order to crush him, but the electrically-charged hedgehog was just a bit more powerful than it and, with some degree of effort, broke through the demon's grip and escaped. He then drew back and landed a serious haymaker to its jaw, shattering its fangs and sending it flying over a railing, where it fell into the depths of the machine below.

While Slam was distracted with the large demon, several grunts tried to get him from behind. Two of them tried swiping their claws at him, but Slam avoided the attack and grabbed a hold of their arms. He threw the first one at a Guller that was swooping down from above, knocking them both out, and the second at a Magic grunt that was trying to shoot at him. Another Grunt tried to jump him from behind, but Slam was a bit too fast and sent it flying into a wall with a swift kick.

Two more Magic Grunts came at him with large swords charged with energy. The first swung low, but Slam jumped over it with no problem. However, he failed to notice the second sword swinging at him in time, and was slashed across the chest by the tip of the blade. The hedgehog quickly pushed himself away from the two Magic Grunts and placed his hand over his wound.

"Damn," Slam cursed, "dese guys are startin' to get serious. Guess it's time for me to take of da kiddy gloves!"

The first Magic Grunt ran in and tried to impale Slam with its sword, but he sidestepped it and kicked the sword out of the creature's hand. The sword flipped up into the air before landing in Slam's hand where he, with a single slice, decapitated it with a single blow. The now dead Magic Grunt's body simply evaporated away as the second one came in for another blow, but this one also felt the blade that Slam held penetrate it's body; and it, too, vanished without a trace.

Once those two last Shadow Demons were gone, a door to the next area opened up. Slam instantly took the chance to advance farther in and up in the giant mecha: he knew that every level that he climbed and every door that he opened lead him closer and closer to the power core of this mechanical monstrosity.

As Slam climbed, 7 more Gullers swooped in from the ceiling. One of them shot an energy blast at him, but the hedgehog deflected it back with a single swing of the sword he held, destroying the Guller in a dark explosion. Another one swooped down at him, but it met the steel of his blade. Slam continued to run up the large staircase he was on as the other 5 kept shooting at him. 2 more of them tried their luck in tackling Slam, but he was too quick for the both of them and they both were felled by his new blade. The last three kept their distance and just kept firing energy shots at him as they continued to ascend.

Eventually Slam was forced against a door that would not open for him. Try as he might, the metal that the door was made of was too strong even for the physically overpowered hedgehog to break through. The last 3 Gullers let out a bird-like laugh as they charged up energy for one final shot.

"Gotta time dis just right…" Slam said to himself as he readied himself for the Gullers final attack. As soon as the 3 bird Monsters fired, Slam tossed his sword at them, and then jumped out of the way of the huge energy ball that was shot at him.

The blast was strong enough to destroy the door that was blocking his path, revealing a large room behind it, and the sword spun through the air like a saw and cut through all 3 of the Gullers before returning like a boomerang to the hedgehog, who had landed right in front of the now open doorway.

"Wow," Slam awed to himself, "dat wasn't half bad for someone who was just wingin' it da whole time…"

Without hesitating, Slam instantly turned around headed into the large room behind him. It was a least the size of a small baseball stadium, with the ceiling being at least 5 stories above him. The walls were lined with several large panels, and several clear tubes with electricity surging through it jutted out from the wall, curved down, and connected to the floor along the base. The energy surged through the floor under non-conductive glass into a large machine in the center of the room. This machine had a large sphere of energy glowing in the center of it that seemed to be feeding power to the surrounding areas.

"No doubt about it," Slam said to himself, "dis has to be da Power Core of dis giant robot; and if I'm right…"

Slam placed his hand above his eyes to block out some of the bright light coming from the glowing energy sphere, and squinted as he looked into it. Sure enough; he could see the silhouettes of the 2 Chaos Emeralds inside.

"Ha, I knew it! Dis is gonna be easier den I thought…"

As Slam approached the machine, however, he didn't notice that he stepped right through an infrared sensor beam. Without warning, the entrance to the room slammed shut, and alarms started to blare throughout the room.

"**WARNING,"** exclaimed a robotic voice, **"INTRUDER DETECTED IN POWER GENERATOR ROOM; ACTIVATING GUARDIAN KNIGHT DRONE…"**

"Damn it; when am I gonna learn to keep my big mouth shut!"

Slam quickly retreated back as the floor under him began to open, bringing the power generator underneath it before closing up. Once it did, the ceiling opened and dropped what appeared to be a giant chess piece, or at least, the base of one. It was about the size of a Juggernaut mech, and its upper portion looked like a humanoid chest with 3 glowing blue domes on it; one on each side and one on top. After the giant structure landed, two hatches on either side of the room in the walls opened up, revealing large, mechanical arms inside of them. The blue domes on either side of the large body portion then glowed and shot out, grabbing the arms and pulling them in to attach to the sides. Finally, the head portion, which was built to look like a stereotypical helmet of a suit of armor, fell from the ceiling and landed perfectly on the giant robot's shoulders; connecting to it instantly. Finally, the eyes of the robot began to glow red, signifying that it had been activated, and it let out a large mechanical growl that seemed to shake the room.

Slam just stood there, looking up at the towering behemoth that loomed over him, with his jaw wide open and his pupils shrunk down to the size of peas. He stood there for only a few moments before dropping the sword he was carrying and bolted for the door. Slam tried his hardest to break through the barrier as best as he could, but even his Herculean strength wasn't even able to dent it. He tried everything: punching it repeatedly, trying to kick it down, attempting to lift it from underneath: he even pulled out his guns and tried to shoot it down. Despite his best efforts, however, the door just wouldn't budge: he was trapped like a rat…

00

Outside the mech, the gang wasn't really faring too well against the Shadow Demons themselves. The Master Juggernaut was finally tricked out of the city and lead into the desert to the east, but that's when things started to get worse. Over half of the G.U.N. and Eggman robotic flyers had been taken out, and the Shadow Demons in the air and on the ground revived with about 5 of them for every one destroyed.

Rouge was having a bit of trouble in the air as she was being chased down by a group of Gullers who were shooting at her. Her quick moves in the air and fancy flying let her easily dodge the shots the flying demons shot at her, but she failed to notice that one managed to get right up behind her. By the time she did, it was already too late as the creature let loose with an energy blast that hit her square in the back. With a scream of pain, Rouge began falling to the ground at high speed, with the demonic bird right on her tail. The Guller was about to fire off another shot before Rouge hit when the bat girl just suddenly vanished in front of its eyes. The creature just stopped in mid air and looked around in confusion before feeling someone tap it on the head from behind. It looked behind just long enough to see Shadow's gloved hand bash it right in the face.

Shadow just hovered there in the air (with the help of his Hover Shoes), with Rouge held tight in his grip, as he watch the Guller spiral to the ground before disappearing in a puff of black dust. Once the Guller was gone, he reduced the thrust on his Hover Shoes and returned to the ground, where Shadow just sort of dropped Rouge on the ground.

"You need to be more careful," said Shadow in his usual emotionless tone. Rouge just gave Shadow a fierce look before picking herself up off the ground.

"And you need to keep an eye on that brother of yours," she chimed in. "Stealth abandoned us again!"

"So it would appear; but you need to realize that he has a very good reason for doing so."

"What possible reason could justify his actions in running away like a coward?"

Shadow was about to reply to this, but the two of them were interrupted by a Magic Grunt's energy blast. Shadow quickly dashed off and smashed it in the face with a right hook, knocking it back into a group of Grunts nearby. He then threw his right arm in the air and brought it down hard, letting loose a volley of Chaos Spears that fried the demons where they lay, vaporizing them instantly.

Rouge soon joined in as she took back to the skies. Trying something new, she combined her Dark Wave with some of her new ice powers to see if that would help to deal some more damage. She launched it, and it slammed into a nearby Guller with a forceful explosion, one that made Rouge have to shield herself from the shockwave.

_Well,_ she thought to herself, _it seems as though this Ice element may have some use after all. I still hate it, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt; for now…_

Meanwhile, a sight that seems impossible is taking place, as Sonic and Eggman are fighting together. Eggman was using what appeared to be an exoskeletal enhancement machine to enhance his power and defense while fighting, and he was taking out any Shadow Demon that came his way. At the same time, Sonic was using several different melee moves to fend off several more Grunts that came his way.

"How ya holding up, Eggman?" Sonic exclaimed to his arch nemesis as he swatted another Grunt away.

"I've destroyed at least 300 of these things thanks to my latest invention," Eggman said with a half-satisfied tone in his voice, "but it just seems as though no matter how many we destroy, there seems to be at least another ten to take the place of each one!"

"I know, but we've got to keep fighting!"

"Let's just hope that that crazy recolor of you found his way to the power core of that giant robot and is disabling it as we speak…"

00

"SOMEBODY SHUT DIS THING DOWN!!"

Slam screamed and ran around in a panic as the giant robot was trying to crush the poor hedgehog. It took a swing at him, but it just missed as Slam managed to stop dead in his tracks as the fist struck the ground. He then turned around the other way, but was cut off once again by a giant robotic fist that just barely missed him.

The robot was starting to get angry now, evident in its mechanical roars, and it lifted its hands high in the air. Energy began to gather in its grip as it took the form of a large, rectangular blade. The robot drew the blade back as far as it could, and then slammed it long ways into the ground. The strange thing about this, however, was that the blade was embedded nowhere near where Slam was standing. However, Slam was so busy trying to figure out why the robot purposely missed him that he failed to notice the second blade forming in it's hand, which was brought down hard just behind him. The poor hedgehog tensed up as chills went down his spine as he felt the tips of his quills being sliced off by the blade behind him. In a sort of comical fashion, Slam quickly tiptoed away from the blade to the center of the area he was now trapped in.

The ground under Slam's feet began to shake as, outside the separated area, 4 large energy pylons rose out of the ground. Slam looked up and out at each one as they rose up to the point where he could see one on the outside of either blade. The robot lifted its arms up as the pylons started to exude large amounts of electrical energy, which shot up into its hands in bolts of lightning. The lightning started to form into a large electrical sphere that grew larger and larger.

It took a moment for Slam to realize just what the robot was doing, and once again started running around in a panic, trying his hardest to get out of the area he was trapped in. Once the energy sphere was at its largest, the robot activated a targeting cursor on the ground that began to move around in an attempt to lock onto Slam. Luckily for the hedgehog, he was running around so much that the cursor failed to lock on in time, sending the attack (a large burst of electricity from the sphere over its head) crashing down on the ground. Once the attack was over with, the energy blades dissipated, letting the still panicking Slam out into the rest of the room again.

Slam was certainly panicking something fierce for a good few minutes before running out of breath, forcing him to stop running around to catch his breath. As he was huffing and puffing to try and catch his breath, he seemed to notice something: the robot had not tried to obliterate him since the energy burst. Looking up and over to the robot, he made a starling discovery…

"Hey, dat thing ain't movin' no more!"

Indeed, the machine had stopped moving altogether. Its eyes had shut off, and steam was seeping out of its joints.

"I'm thinkin' dat maybe it overheated after usin' dat attack. Maybe dis is my opportunity to damage it!"

Not missing a beat, Slam pulled out his guns and began blasting away at the outer hull of the robotic giant. He ran around the mechanical monster, blasting away at any point that he could, but he was unable to leave even a dent in the armor.

"Damn it," Slam cursed, "not even a scratch! What da hell is dis thing made of anyway? Dere's gotta be a weak point somewhere!"

That's when he noticed it; the pylons from before. They had not yet been pulled back below the ground yet, and were no longer sparking with energy.

"I wonder…"

Taking a chance, Slam ran over to where he dropped the sword he was carrying earlier and grabbed it; and then ran over and took a strong swing against one of the pylons. The sword blasted straight through it like a hot knife through butter, creating an electrical feedback that blasted through the Guardian Knight Drone. The monster was instantly reactivated, and it let out a mechanical scream of pain as energy surged through it with intense force.

"Ha, I knew it: now I just gotta take out da other three!"

Before he could, however, the pylons retracted into the ground again. The Guardian Knight Drone let out an angry roar before resuming its attack. This time it tried something new, opening an area on its chest, revealing a gattling cannon. Knowing full well what was coming next, Slam began to dash around the room as fast as he could as the cannon fired on him. He was just barely able to stay ahead of the volley of fire when it finally stopped. The robot then held its hands up and formed the two energy blades again. Slam knew full well what was coming this time, and tried to position himself so that the machine would try and trap him where one of the pylons came up.

The Guardian Knight Drone fell for his ruse, and he was trapped once again, this time with the pylon inside with him. As predicted, the pylons rose once again, revealing the monster's weakness. Slam took no hesitation this time around as he tore through the second pylon before it was even raised up all the way. The pylon exploded, sending another electrical surge throughout the robot, badly damaging it.

The interruption in the beast's charge time caused the energy blades to be vaporized, revealing the other two pylons. Wanting to end this quickly, Slam ran as fast as he could (which wasn't very impressive for a Sonic-style character, and slashed through the third one. The shock this time was enough to cause parts of the Guardian Knight Drone's armor to start to crack and drop off. The monster was really pissed off at this point, and shielded its final pylon with a barrier before Slam could reach it. Now that the monster knew that Slam was a threat, it decided to stop holding back. It raised its arms high, and absorbed every last ounce of energy it could muster, creating a huge energy sphere above its head that was at least 10 times bigger than the first one (which was pretty big to begin with).

"Oh shit…" was all that Slam could manage to say as the demon threw the energy ball down right on the hedgehog. Slam was so frozen with fear that all he could do was hold up his hands in defense as the sphere of energy came at him. However, as it was just about to reach him, the sphere seemed to just stop in mid air. Slam kept his eyes closed and his arms held out for a few moments, but took a peek real quick to see what was going on.

Slam was left speechless as he saw the sphere being held back by him with very little effort at all. He was at a loss for words for a few moments before finally realizing what happened.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I'm da Chosen of Thunder, and dis is electrical energy; which means…"

An evil smile spread across Slam's face as he focused the energy he was holding inward; absorbing it into his body. The energy increase in his physical being caused his body to begin to glow with a yellow aura that increased in intensity and brightness as the energy went further into him. Soon the entire room was basked in a golden yellow glow, completely blinding the Guardian Knight Drone. After a few moments, the light began to die down a bit, and when it was gone, there was a sight to behold

Slam had somehow changed in his appearance. He now appeared to be more muscular than before, and his shirt had changed from his normal orange, dark sleeved shirt to a drab orange t-shirt under a white tank top. His sneakers had also changed; becoming solid red, save for a single, long ways stripe of yellow on the toe. The rest of his outfit/appearance didn't really change, though.

Slam took no time to take notice of his change as he stood back in a… well; I guess the best description for it would be the stance Goku uses when he charges up the Kamehameha Wave attack. Electrical energy began to charge up inside of the palms of his hand, steadily growing in size and intensity…

00

Outside, the battle had reached its most critical moment. All of the GUN and Eggman flyers had been all but destroyed, save for the GUN flagship that still floated just out of the Master Juggernaut's reach, and the team on the ground were completely surrounded in what seemed to be a never-ending ocean of Shadow Demons.

"I don't know how much more of this we can take!" Vector exclaimed as he created a wall of stone using his new Earth abilities to protect himself from a few shots of energy.

"We've got to hold out as long as possible," Crystal stated as she slashed at an attacking Grunt with an Ice Sword she made, "We need to give Slam the time he needs to disable the Master Juggernaut!"

"Speaking of recolors," Charmy said as he parried the staff of a Magic Grunt away with his stinger, "Where'd Stealth disappear to?"

"I saw the lousy coward run off!" Rouge said as she launched an Ice-charged Black Wave attack, "He deserted us when we needed him!"

"He didn't run away," Sonic said while blocking a few shots with his new Light powers, "there were a few civilians left behind in the city: I told Stealth to make sure they make it to safety!"

"Yeah, and he's probably still hiding out with them!" Rouge quickly replied, "He's nothing but a coward!"

"Can we please discuss this another time?" Espio interrupted while swatting away a few Shadow Demons with another plant-based jutsu. "I think that keeping ourselves from being destroyed takes priority over squabbling over who did or did not desert us right now!"

"I agree with Espio," Eggman chimed in as he swatted away another Guller, "but it seems as though we'll have our answer on the matter sooner than you think: check out over there."

Everyone looked over to where Eggman was pointing to see a fiery streak plowing through the Shadow Demons like they weren't even there to begin with. The streak continued to burst through until it broke through the offensive line that was surrounding the heroes and stopped. The flames died down, and there stood Stealth in the flesh and blood…

…but, something seemed different about him. His quill groupings on his head were reduced from 6 to 3 in a similar style to that of Slam's quills, except that the two on either side pointed upwards like Shadow's. They were a bit messy, and the back of his head, which was once solid black, was now a yellow color that seemed to fade into the red in his face (like a flame effect. His bangs also changed from draping over his right eye (effectively concealing it), to draping down on either side. They, like his quills, had yellow tips that seemed to fade into the red. The tuft of hair on his chest had also disappeared, and in place of his trench coat was what appeared to be a military issued black utility vest.

"Hey there everyone," Stealth greeted, "Sorry I'm late, but I had to help a few stragglers get to safety. Oh, by the way, how do you like my little design update? Makes me look more like my own character instead of just being a simple recolor, don't you think?"

Nobody answered; they all just stared at him like he had two heads: or more specifically, they were staring at his eyes. You see, Stealth's right eye wasn't real: it was an optics device that was similar in appearance to that of Metal Sonic's eyes, with the exception of the fact that he could still emote with it, where as Metal Sonic's stay the same all the time, regardless of his mood.

"Uh," Crystal finally managed to say, "What happened to your eye?"

Before Stealth had a chance to answer, however, a huge explosion could be heard from above. Everyone, including all of the shadow demons, looked up to the source of the sound, which was a gigantic beam of electrical energy blasting outward from the Master Juggernaut, severely damaging the outer hull, and destroying the giant mask on the chest of the mecha. All the Shadow Demons, at the site of this, began to be thrown into a panic as one by one they began to dissipate and disappear, as if linked to this plane of existence by the mask itself.

00

High up on the Master Juggernaut, Slam looked out through the giant hole that he had created from that blast.

"Damn," he cursed to himself as he looked down, "it's a long way down from here…"

Slam then reached behind him and pulled the blue and yellow Chaos Emeralds from his hammer space.

"…but I guess dat recoverin' dese emeralds have earned me a bit of luck, so I guess that makin' a leap like dis ain't all dat bad…"

Just as he was about to jump, however, a faint sound caught his ear; the sound of an engine. Slam looked out in the distance, and saw a small, blue biplane heading for him. The biplane, which was being piloted by a young orange fox, was dipping and swooping through the remaining Gullers that were still able to stay alive, before finally reaching Slam's location, where the plane just seemed to hover there.

"Hey there," the young fox greeted, "need a lift?"

"Hey," Slam said curiously, "Ain't you dat Tails person who made dat order for da custom parts?"

"I was wondering what was taking so long for you guys to get me my parts, so I decided to come and check up on the status…"

Before Slam could answer, a large explosion rocked the giant mech, causing the hedgehog to start loosing his balance a bit.

"Whoa," Slam said as he tried to regain his balance, "I'm thinkin' dat maybe we should continue dis little discussion on da ground!"

Tails nodded as he moved the Tornado 2 into position for Slam to get in. Once Slam was buckled in, Tails quickly and skillfully piloted the biplane away from the robot; and just in time, too, as a large, fiery explosion blasted out through the hole in the robot's armor. Slam looked back in both horror and amazement as giant explosions blasted through the hull of the giant mech, tearing it apart bit by bit. After a few moments, the explosions seemed to get more and more intense as a bright white light seemed to engulf the robot, sending out beams of light across the sky. After a few moments, one final giant explosion burst outward from the robot, completely obliterating it.

The battle was over, but the war has just begun…

00

Mushroom Hill: a forested area on Angel Island best known for its giant mushroom that are scattered all over the landscape. It is a peaceful area, where many people go to find rest and relaxation among the flora, fauna, & fungi.

However, today was not a day of rest and relaxation in the zone. It was one of tense and extreme danger.

Black Rose was angry, that was evident of her intense aura of energy that surrounded her body. She had been humiliated by Knuckles, and she was ready wasn't going to stand for it anymore. She floated just above the ground as she went forward, her sharp eyes keeping a lookout for any movement.

Not too far away, Knuckles and Tikal were hiding in a small area concealed by vines and the large mushrooms. Knuckles looked out through the vines to see Black Rose only about four feet from where the two of them were, and almost panicked when she looked straight at where they were. Luckily, she didn't notice they were there thanks to the concealment of the vines, and she started to move away.

"_Phew,"_ Knuckles quietly sighed in relief, _"that was a close one…"_

"_Knuckles,"_ Tikal asked, _"do you know why Black Rose wants the Master Emerald?"_

"_I didn't have time to learn from Circuit just what it is that she needs it for, but she probably wants to use its power to revive the Demon Nazo…"_

"_Did you say Nazo? But, I thought that he was just a legend; part of a story that parents told their kids at night to keep them from misbehaving..."_

"_Well, he isn't. From what I've learned so far; Black Rose is Nazo's most devoted follower, and she seeks to revive him. I don't know what she could possibly gain from it, but I can't let her get her hands on the Master Emerald."_

Knuckles then reached into his hammer space and pulled out the Master Emerald, which he had shrunk down to the size of a Chaos Emerald for easy carry.

"_Tikal, I want you to take the Master Emerald and bring it to the Hidden Palace Zone shrine.."_

"_What? Knuckles, what are you talking about?"_

"_I'll go out there and distract that she-witch while you get the Master Emerald down to the Hidden Palace Shrine."_

"_What?! But, Knuckles, that's just plain suicide; she's too powerful for you to handle, not to mention that she's so angry that she'll probably hold nothing back!"_

"_That's a risk that I have to take. As Guardian of the Master Emerald, I have a responsibility to keep anyone from taking the emerald for their own gain; even if it costs me my own life."_

Tikal was about to try and plead with him, but she knew that no matter what she said, Knuckles wouldn't listen to her. He was stubborn like that, but he was also right: Black Rose would misuse the Master Emerald's power if she had gotten her hands on it, and that would mean the end of the world as they knew it. She just simply nodded to Knuckles to let him know that she agreed with him, and with a simple nod back, the red echidna went out to face off against the evil priestess.

A few yards away, Black Rose was floating in a large clearing, where it looked like a large amount of trees was chopped down (the mini boss area from S&K/S3&K). She was still trying to locate Knuckles so that she could finally put an end to him and take the Master Emerald. She was so busy looking, that she didn't even notice him walk into the clearing.

"Hey, Black Rose," Knuckles exclaimed, "Are you looking for me?!"

Black Rose instantly turned around to see Knuckles standing there, readied in a fighting stance.

"Hmph," Black Rose scoffed, "you realize that facing me is a death sentence, you know. I plan on holding nothing back now, considering how you've humiliated me horribly…"

"Why don't you just stop talking and bring it on!"

"…Very well then…"

Black Rose instantly teleported behind Knuckles, and bashed him in the back of the head with a powerful kick, sending him flying across the field. She then pursued his body and kicked it up in the air. Knuckles was able to correct himself in the air, and managed to block an incoming punch from the evil sorceress, and bashed her in the face with a powerful punch. She was only knocked back a few inches, however, and instantly retaliated with a flurry of her own punches. He was able to either block or avoid the majority of the strikes, but a few caught him off guard and dealt serious damage against him. Thinking quickly, Knuckles quickly blocked one of the punches with his left foot, and brought his right foot up to smack right into Black Rose's jaw. She was knocked back some, allowing Knuckles to quickly glide back down to the ground. The moment he touched down, he put on his shovel claws and began digging into the earth.

Back in the sky, Black Rose finally managed to regain her senses from Knuckles' kick, and flew straight down to the ground after him. She stopped just before she touched down, and looked around for him.

"Come out; come out; wherever you are…" Black Rose said tauntingly as she carefully surveyed the area. Without realizing it, however, Knuckles shot back up from under her and delivered a powerful uppercut to the evil priestess, the damage of which was increased from the use of his Shovel Claw. Black Rose was throne back a bit as the claw cut her cheek. Wiping the blood from her wound with the sleeve of her robe, she summoned up one of her scimitars and quickly slashed at Knuckles, who was just able to back up in time to avoid it. The evil priestess then summoned her second sword, and slashed again. This time, however, the blade clanged against Knuckles' Shovel Claw as he used it to shield himself from the attack, and then took the opportunity to punch her hard in the stomach with a powerful left hook.

Black Rose was thrown back, but she quickly righted herself in the air and flew forward at sonic speed with her blades at the ready. Knuckles was unable to adjust for this quick maneuver and cried in pain as he felt dozens of sword slashes against his body. In only a few seconds, he was laying on the ground in pain with large cuts all over his body. The evil priestess simply scoffed at him as she watched the red echidna try his hardest to stand back up.

"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" she said, mocking Knuckles' attempts to keep fighting.

"Guess I'm just stubborn that way…" Knuckles mockingly replied, "…but then again, I kinda get that from my dad, if you will recall…"

"Please: Locke was ten times the Echidna you could ever hope to be and even he could not stop me! What hope could you ever have of defeating me, or even surviving for that matter?"

A small smile crept its way across Knuckles' face as he chuckled under his breath.

"I'm not trying to defeat you, Black Rose; I'm just trying to stall you…"

All of a sudden; a pale blue light seemed to begin to emanate from the trees, mushrooms & the very ground itself. A look of surprise was evident on Black Rose's face as the blue light slowly began to increase in brightness and intensity.

"I believe you are familiar with the Purity Pulse: an invention that my father created to harness energy from the Master Emerald to purge any source of corrupted power from the island, keeping the Master Emerald safe. I believe that it's safe to assume that you've lost."

Before Black Rose even got a chance to reply, the energy burst outward from the ground, enveloping the entire island in an extremely bright, pale blue light. She screamed as the energy, which was too much for even her to withstand, blasted her far off the island.

The light remained for a few moments afterward as Black Rose regained her composure in mid air about a mile outside of the island's airspace. She watched the light patiently and intensely as it slowly began to dim down until it was no more. To the normal eye, the island hadn't changed at all, but Black Rose was able to sense and see different types of energy; and through her eyes, you could see a thin, almost invisible barrier of purified energy surrounding the entire island.

Black Rose just floated there with a blank expression on her face. She had been denied the Master Emerald a second time, and was booted off the island in a most undignified manner. She simply closed her eyes and bowed her head in defeat, and remained like that for a few moments.

But then, something unexpected happened: her mouth seemed to curl up a bit into a smile, and she began to chuckle a bit under her breath. Soon, that chuckle started to build up as she threw her head back in a hearty and healthy laugh.

"Hahaha, I can't believe it!" she said, almost as if she actually enjoyed it, "That's the second time that I've underestimated the Master Emerald Guardian: and it was Locke's own son, too! Ha, the irony of it all! But be warned, my 'friend'; you and your friends in Station Square may have won the battle, but this is MY war: and it's far from over! The next time we meet, I will kill you & your flea bitten friends!"

And with that, Black Rose just seemed to vanish into thin air: teleporting to an unknown location to rest and regroup for the next battle…

* * *

**SAGA 1 End**

**And so the first Saga of Knuckles Quest comes to a close. Black Rose has failed to retrieve the Master Emerald, and the city of Station Square, albeit somewhat destroyed, is safe from the Master Juggernaut. But just what are these Shadow Demons, and why does Black Rose seem to have a strong resentment against Locke, even though she killed him long ago?**

**Only time will reveal the answers…**

**Slam422: Well, I didn't think I'd make it, but I've finally finished the first story arc of Knuckles Quest with no problem. I'm hoping that you are all enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it, because there is so much more in store for the future.**

**Oh, and I just want to point one thing out before I go: even though my username is Slam422, Slam is NOT a self-insertion character. He is an independent character that is completely separate from me. There was, at one point in time, where he was my author character (hence my username), but I turned him into a separate character when I realized that making myself a hedgehog when I am not one is just silly, and so I created a human character to act as my avatar. I say this now so that I avoid any comments on "self insertion" in the future, as I have already received one and don't want anymore when it isn't true…**

**DISCLAIMER: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman & all related characters, locations & themes are all © to SEGA™ and Sonic Team™. Slam, Stealth, Crystal, Black Rose, all Shadow Demon species & the story itself belong to me, Slam422.**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Black Rose returns to her lair to confer with the Council of Corruption on what to do next.**

**Matt: Until next time; Later Days!**


	11. Meet the Council

Matt: Okay, so now that I've finished the first story arc of Knuckles Quest, I'm going to make a few quick filler chapters to

**Slam422: Okay, so now that I've finished the first story arc of Knuckles Quest, I'm going to make a few quick filler chapters to tie the bridge before the second story arc begins.**

**This chapter will introduce the Council of Corruption; the main group of villains for this story. Because that this is just an intro chapter it won't be very long, and it may be of lower quality than what I've done so far, so I apologize in advance if this upsets anyone…**

**Also, just to let you all know, I've recently added a group shot of the council members to my DA/Sheezyaccounts. Because of this, I'm only goingto be giving general descriptions of what each character looks like. If you want a more detailed look at them, then please head on over to my art sites and check it out there.**

**Now, let's get this thing started!**

* * *

Intermission

Chapter 11: Meet the Council

* * *

Black Rose slammed her fist down on the arm of her throne. She had returned to her mysterious lair after her defeat, and her anger at loosing had finally caught up with her something fierce.

"How could I have lost?!" she cursed in anger, "There's just no way that they could have been that strong or resourceful!"

"_**I had warned you not to underestimate them…"**_

Black Rose instantly shot up in surprise as she looked into the darkness of her throne room. Something began to phase up through the floor like a ghost, and when it solidified, Black Rose merely slumped back down in her seat.

"Black Doom: to what do I owe this displeasure of your company? Did you come to gloat at my loss, as I know you probably would…"

"_**As much as I would love to do so; there are more important things that must be taken care of right now. Five of the Chosen have already begun their awakening, and now that they have the sixth emerald, the next Chosen will be found soon. Something must be done…"**_

"For once, you alien buffoon, we are in complete agreement. I believe we must convene the Council for a meeting."

"_**The Council of Corruption? I'm not so sure that is a very wise decision, especially since we lack members that would represent Light and Earth, and that your choice for our Fire member has yet to embrace our Master's dark blessing…**_

"Do youthink that I do not know this? I wouldn't convene an incomplete council unless it was an emergency. I underestimated their power, and paid the price for it: now not only do they havesix of the emeralds, but they will undoubtedly begin to head on out to the EchidnaVillages so that theymay train to use their powers against us. Our plan to revive Master Nazo, which have taken more than 3 centuries to setup, is reaching its ultimate climax, and I do not intend to let these so called "Chosen" stop us when we are so close!"

"…_**Very well then: I shall summon them for you…"**_

Black Doom phased out of the room, once again leaving Black Rose alone in the mysterious chamber again. A few minutes of silence passed as Black Rose waited patiently, before the demonic alien phased back into the room.

"_**I've informed all current members of the council that you are calling for them,"**_ Black Doom stated, _**"They should be arriving any time…"**_

And sure enough, Black Rose could sense the energy signatures of the members of her "council" approaching. A chilled wind blew throughout the chamber as ice and snow began to form and swirl about in a miniature tornado. In the center of this mini blizzard, an ice crystal began to form, grow, and shape itself until it became what appeared to be an Echidnagirl made of solid ice. She opened her eyes, revealing a cold, emotionless stare that seemed to match the blank expression on her face.

"Did you summon me, my mistress?" the ice echidna girl asked.

"Yes I did Frostathe Cold," Black Rose replied, "I'm conveninga meeting of the council to discuss an important matter that may threaten our plans."

The emotionless expression on her face was now replaced by an evil smile, though her eyes still held the icy, emotionless feeling in them.

"How very n_ice_," the ice girl said with a clearly forced hint of glee, "the Council has not gathered since a year before Black Doom's failed invasion of the earth."

Doom growled under his breath in anger at beingreminded of his most humiliatingdefeat at the hands of Shadow almost a year ago (as of this storyline). Before he could say anything, though, a large thunder clap sounded throughout the room as electricity started to gather up in a large sphere of energy. The electric ball burst outward in a loud and thunderous explosion as the figure of what appeared to be a yellow-armored, hunched-over-constructed robotic echidna.

"Sparkspurt," Frosta said in her normally expressionless tone, "you always were one to make an entrance…"

Sparkspurt just shot Frostaa small warningglance before returning his gaze to Black Rose.

"Black R-Rose," Sparkspurt said in a somewhat broken tone, "I-it is always a p-plea-a-asure to s-see yo-o-ou…"

"What seems to be wrong with your voice, my old friend?" Black Rose inquired.

"A mi-i-i-inor glit-t-tch in my vo-oc-cal process-s-s-sors; I've ye-e-et to cor-r-r-r-rect it, B-but it s-s-shouldn't int-t-terfer-r-re with m-my main sys-s-s-stems…"

Just then, a splash of water could be heard from behind. The group looked back to see that a large puddle of water had formed behind them. After a few moments, a young blue fox girl, who appeared to be no more than 4 years of age, wore a blue sailor dress and held what appeared to be a teddy bear made entirely out of water, came up out of it. She let out a cute yawn before joining the other members of the Council.

"Aquaria," Black Rose greeted the young girl, "it's good to see that you came. I hope that Black Doom didn't wake you from a nap…"

"Aquariadon't mind," the young girl said, "Black Rose asked for Aquaria, so I came…"

"So," Frosta interrupted, "now that we are all here, what is so important that you needed to summon us here?"

"…I have some…disturbing news to share. Our plans have hit a snag, as five of the Chosen of Chaos have been awakened."

Everyone, even the emotionless Frosta, widened their eyes in shock, except for Aquaria; who had not heard of the term before."

"I tried to destroy them by sending the Master Juggernaut, equipped with a Maskor Shadow Demon, after them, but one of them managed to getto the core and capture the 2 Chaos Emeralds that I used to power it. So now they havesix emeralds, and are going to try and take us on."

"T-this is not a g-g-good thin-n-ng for us," Sparkspurt stated, "If the-e-e-ey disc-c-c-co-o-over how to u-use their powers, then w-we may be d-d-defe-fe-feated."

"So," Aquaria asked, "are Chosen of Chaos bad?"

"_**To us and our goals, they are."**_ Black Doom responded, _**"I had forgotten that we have never told you about them."**_

"Then Aquaria will stop Chosen of Chaos, right Wawa?"

She then held up her water teddy, apparently named Wawa, and shook it so that its head would bob in an agreeing manner.

"So then," Frosta began, "what is our plan of action?"

"That irritating Ice EchidnaGuardian, Crystal, is with them right now, so I would assume that they would head to Angel Island to meet up with Knuckles, the current guardian of the Master Emerald, and then head to the Ice Echidna tribe first."

"It's just too bad for them that I've already conquered the ice capital and turned most of its inhabitants into my Ice Sentinel slaves." Frosta said with a satisfied smirk emulated on her face, "If my heart wasn't made of ice, then I'd almost feel sorry for them…"

"Then I can be assured that, once they reach your new "Kingdom", you will be able to dispatch with them?"

"You know that I show no mercy when fighting: if they are foolish enough to try and take me on, I'll permafrost them!"

"Very good then; I'll leave them to you. However, I want everyone else to stay on guard just in case: underestimating these warriors can prove to be unwise.

Everyone just nodded before they all teleportedthemselves back to where theycame from. Once they were all gone, Black Rose just simply slouched down in her throne and sighed.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Maybe it's because you know your so called "Council" isn't going to be able to do the job…"

Black Rose and Black Doom both shot up upon hearing this mysterious voice, and Black Rose instantly took a defensive stance with one of her blades at the ready.

"Who is there?! Show yourself!"

From out of the shadows, someone began to approach. He appeared to be a hedgehog who, save for his green fur that seemed to glow, black sneakers, glowing green eyes & the black patch of fur on his forehead, looked almost exactly like Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Relax," the hedgehog assured, "I'm no enemy. We have a common foe, and I want to get rid of him just as much as you do."

"_**And why should we trust you?"**_ Black Doom asked suspiciously as he joined Black Rose's side. _**"How do we know that you are not Sonic in disguise; you do look an awful lot like him, you know…"**_

"I'm not surprised that you would think that. After all; I am his older brother."

"You're his older brother?"

"Yes; my name is Ashura the Hedgehog. For the longest time I havelived in the shadow of my brother, beingconsidered the lesser of the two of us because of the fact that he was able to stop some stupid, egg-bellied scientist from kidnappinga few innocent little animals. I'm sick of everyone telling me that I should be more like Sonic, and I want to prove myself his better; even if I have to destroy him to do so…"

Black Rose's eyes widened a bit at this, and a sinister smile crept onto her face.

"You would be willing to do _anything_to proveyourself his better," Black Rose asked as her interest perked, "even joiningmy council and receivingthe dark blessing from Master Nazo?"

"I'm not 100 sure on who this Nazo guy is, but if he can give me the power to defeat Sonic once and for all, then I'm all for it!"

Both Black Rose and Black Doom both seemed to chuckle evilly under their breaths at this.

"_**Very well then,"**_ Doom agreed, _**"you shall be initiated into the council, and you will be granted our Master's blessing so that you can get your revenge. We will need to make some preparations for your initiation, so we will need you to wait a few minutes."**_

"Excellent!" Ashuraagreed, "I'll be waiting outside here, then, so call me when you are ready. I can't wait to kick that no good brother of mine from here to next week!"

Ashura walked out of the room, back in to the mysterious shadows from where he came from. When the two of them were sure that he was out of earshot, the two of them let out a small, evil laugh.

"He is one unbelievable creature," Black Rose declared, "I have never sensed such power occurring naturally inside of anyone before!"

"_**Yes; with such power, there is no telling what he could bring to the table for us! It's almost as if his very essence is forged from Chaos Energy!"**_

"Not only that, but he's Sonic's older brother; so he's the perfect choice to send against him! I guess today didn't turn out as poorly as I thought."

The two of them just looked at each other for a few moments, before letting out one final evil laugh that seemed to echo throughout the entire room. Surely this is a sign of bad things to come…

* * *

**Slam422: Before anyone says anything; I am well aware that this chapter is of such poor quality when compared to the chapters that I've written so far, and I apologize for that. I just wanted to get it out of the way so that I could get started on the next story arc.**

**Disclaimer: The only characters in this chapter that I do not own are Black Doom and, to an extent, Ashurathe Hedgehog: both of them are ©SEGA™ and Sonic Team™. Everyone else, as well as the story itself, belong to me; Slam422**

**Next Chapter: Our heroes are preparing to leave for the first Echidna Capitol, but the Tornado and the Tornado 2 just aren't going to cut it. Luckily, Tails has constructed a new plane that just might be what they need, but will it be enough?**

**Slam422: Until next time: Later Days!**


	12. Setting Out on a New Adventure

**Slam422: Yeah, I know, I did it again. To be honest, I'm surprised if anyone even still has this on their watch list anymore considering how long it takes me to write chapters for this damn story. I've honestly been considering letting this story die & just continue on with the project that I've WANTED to start for… 6 years now (I think), but couldn't because of this blasted Fan Fiction.**

**But, if I did, I'd just be proving myself a quitter and…, with all the s*** in my life right now…, I really don't think that would be wise for me to do… So, yeah, I'm going to continue this story as best as I can.**

**I've got some good news, though. This chapter WILL mark the end of the intermission chapters & start the next story arc off. Once I get into that arc, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to fly through it with no problem (once again: do NOT quote me on that).**

**Before I begin, however, I want to make a quick note: from now on, the G.U.N. Commander shall go by the name of Abraham Tower, after his Archie Sonic incarnation. The decision was made based off of my want to call him something OTHER than "Commander" throughout the entire story. Just thought I'd let you all know that ahead of time before I start getting the questions (again, that is only if anyone even reads this damn thing anymore). Also be forewarned that this chapter contains a lot of dialogue between characters, and has no action scenes in it. Its purpose is only to set up for the next arc & answer some necessary questions. Sorry if this puts anyone off…**

**But on the bright side: this is the chapter that Knuckles & Crystal FINALLY meet face to face.**

**Disclaimer is at the bottom, as usual, so let's get this party started!**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 12: Setting Out on a New Adventure

* * *

High up in the sky, far away from any sign of land, a large landmass floats steadily high in the sky. Angel Island had certainly seen its share of action in the past couple of hours, and now it floats towards its next destination: Station Square.

Deep in the very heart of the isle, in the Hidden Palace shrine, Knuckles sits in front of a control panel attempting to control the floating isle as it moves through the sky. To his left; Circuit, the holographic A.I. of Angel Island's mechanical systems, attempts to show Knuckles how to steer the island.

Finally, standing next to the Master Emerald in the middle of the room, was Tikal. She looked all around her, taking in all of the various machines and contraptions that had been previously hidden within the walls, floor & ceiling of the chamber, and sighed in awe.

"I am amazed at how far the Echidnas have come since my time," she thought aloud, "Even the technology of the Nocturnus clan is nothing compared to these amazing machines…"

"That is both true & false." Circuit corrected her, "The technology of the Nocturnus that the Knuckles clan managed to salvage after their mysterious disappearance was reverse-engineered into defensive systems, and were integrated into the very island itself to assist in guarding the Master Emerald. All of the Echidna advancements since then have made the species one of the most technologically advanced races in Earth's history."

She then turned to Knuckles. "Speaking of which, my sensors indicate that we are nearing Station Square's geographical location. Shall I bring it up on the monitor?"

Knuckles simply nodded, & Circuit turned to the main computer and closed her eyes. Mentally interfacing with the computer's systems, she activated the island's external visual devices. The monitor flickered a bit as it warmed up, and after a few minutes displayed the view from outside.

But looking towards the shoreline, the trio did not see Station Square, but the charred ruins of a ravaged battlefield…

* * *

Indeed, the whole of Station Square was now nothing more than a junk heap at best. The skeletal remnants of the skyscrapers that once lined the streets stood twisted and warped by the fires that burned the buildings to the ground. Homes were completely demolished, schools destroyed, & nothing but sadness & pain could be found amidst the wreckage.

…However, there was ONE building that managed to survive the Shadow Demon attack on the city. Thanks to the barrier that a certain fan character managed to erect, Kat & Slam's Item Customization shop was able to avoid being totaled by the Master Juggernaut. It was the only place in the entire city that avoided any damage whatsoever, making it the ideal meeting place for the heroes to strategize their next move.

In the front area of the store, Stealth was sitting in a chair in front of the counter, explaining to Charmy (for the 15th time) how he gained his new physical appearance. Espio & Vector were both nearby, also listening in on the conversation (and mentally sighing at Charmy's ignorance). Off in another corner of the shop, Slam was playfully flexing his muscles as Kat swooned over his new, more muscular form.

In the much larger back room, Shadow & Rouge were off in a corner together. Rouge was mumbling to herself about something, possibly about not liking her new powers again, and Shadow just stood there, brooding as usual.

In the center of the room, a circular table had been set up where the rest of the heroes, now including G.U.N. Commander Abraham Tower, were discussing their next plan-of-action.

"So," Commander Tower spoke up, "let me see if I get this story completely straight: an evil demon from the beginning of time itself wants to be released from its prison, and has charged his highest-ranking follower, this 'Black Rose' character, in doing this mission. And in order for her to do this, she needs the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, as well as these so-called "Elemental Souls". Am I correct?"

"Yes," confirmed Crystal, "that is correct."

Crystal had resumed wearing her hood and cloak, once again hiding from view her Echidna body. She did this only because she felt as though those outside of the ones that have already seen her weren't quite ready to learn that the Knuckles Echidna clan wasn't as "dead" as everyone believed.

"This is quite serious," the Commander mused, "if this matter is not dealt with swiftly, then we may be facing the end of our world as we know it."

"Commander," Sonic quickly butted in, "not to say that your plan ain't exactly to far off of the mark, but maybe we shouldn't just play this one by ear right now. I mean; sure it's worked in the past against Eggman… Uh, no offense, Doc…"

"None taken," Eggman assured.

"…But we've seen what this witch can do."

"Sonic's got a point," Tails added, "That giant robot that she summoned was able to defend itself against both G.U.N. & Eggman's fleet without so much as a scratch against it."

At this statement, Crystal seemed to hang her head a bit and sighed to herself; as if she was ashamed of something. Sonic managed to notice this, but kept quiet.

"So, what are our options at this point?" the Commander asked.

"In my professional opinion," Eggman stated in his usual overdramatic style, "since we have six out of the seven Emeralds, I think that the safest bet would be for us to locate these 'Elemental Souls' that Black Rose is also looking for. From what Crystal has explained to us, the Chosen of Chaos need them in order to better our chances against these adversaries."

"…It's not that simple…"

Everyone looked over to Crystal, whom had been the one to speak up.

"…According to the legend: in order to gain the Elemental Souls, we must first enlist the aid of the Master Guardian. He is to lead the chosen one by one to each of the hidden elemental villages scattered across the world, where the Chosen of that specific element must be judged worthy by an Elemental Guardian. If they pass the test, then they are presented with the soul, but must train for one year's time in order to master its power…"

"So then," Tails asked, "the only way we can even get to the souls…"

"…would be for the Chosen to be worthy enough to claim it…"

"Okay then," Sonic said in his usual cocky attitude, "that shouldn't be too hard."

"But Sonic," Tails interrupted, "what about the Master Guardian? We still need to find him before we can do anything!"

"…Good point; I didn't even think about that. And considering that this guy has a name like the 'Master Guardian', we may have quiet a hard time searching for him…"

"Maybe…" Shadow finally spoke up, "…or maybe not. Crystal; what does the legend say about the Master Guardian?"

Crystal thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, according to legend: the Master Guardian is a powerful warrior with infinite potential that lives on an isle that floats in the heavens, which is held aloft by the power of a great source of purified energy…"

After her explanation, the light bulbs in everyone's heads instantly turned on.

"Wait a minute…" Eggman started.

"You don't mean…" The Commander added.

"Is it really…?" Sonic wondered.

"Can it really be that easy…?" Tails questioned.

"It CAN'T be…!" Rouge exclaimed.

Crystal just stood there, confused at this display of shock & surprise.

"Uh," she hesitantly asked, "was it something I said?"

"You see, Crystal," Shadow explained, "the one that we need to find is none other than our old friend, Knuckles the Echidna: Guardian of the Master Emerald."

Just then, the door leading into the back room quickly swung open. Everyone quickly turned to see none other than Knuckles himself walk in.

"My ears are burning," he said playfully as he walked in; "you've been talking about me, haven't you."

"Yo, Knux," Sonic greeted, "I had a feeling we'd be seeing you sooner or later!"

"Well, I figured that you all might need my help; what with the world being in danger and all…"

It was then that Knuckles took notice of some movement in the back of the room. It was Crystal, still hiding her face from view with her robe.

"Who's that?" Knuckles wondered out loud.

"Oh, that's Crystal," Sonic replied; "she was sent out to find the Chosen of Chaos by her people, as well as you, apparently."

"Really? Well, that's something you don't hear everyday."

Crystal remained quiet and just hung her head in a shy manner. Knuckles stayed quiet for a few moments, before speaking up.

"Hey, everyone, you guys think I could have a moment alone with Crystal; just to get better acquainted with her?"

Everyone looked at Knuckles strangely for his request, especially Crystal, but when he turned to Sonic & gave him a reassuring wink, the hedgehog immediately knew exactly what was on the echidna's mind.

"Oh," Sonic said in realization, "I getcha. Fine then, we'll leave the two of you alone to talk. After all: you've got a LOT to talk about."

The rest of the heroes in the room (& Eggman too) weren't 100% sure as to what was going on, but they were quick to leave as asked. Sonic was the last to begin exiting, but he made sure to pass by Knuckles before leaving.

"_Take it easy on her, Knux,"_ he whispered to Knuckles, _"She seems a bit on the shy side right now…"_

"_I know,"_ Knuckles whispered back, _"and don't worry: I'll make sure to be gentle with her. The last thing I want to do is make her feel uncomfortable around me."_

Sonic merely nodded, and was quick to leave the room, leaving only the two behind.

Knuckles slowly approached the table in the center & grabbed a chair. He pulled it out, sat down, and just looked at Crystal with a somewhat serious look in his face. She was, of course, very nervous about what Knuckles had planned, and was trying her hardest not to panic.

"So," Knuckles began in a somewhat serious tone, "your name is Crystal?"

Crystal was now even more nervous than before. She was so used to being in a large crowd with people that she was scared stiff by this simple question & didn't answer.

"It's a nice name," Knuckles complimented, easing up on his more serious tone & giving a friendly smile; "I like it."

"…T-thank you…" Crystal managed to reply. The change in tone had seemed to calm her down a bit, but not enough for her to keep from keeping her face hidden & stuttering a bit. "I… um… I've wanted… t-to meet you for… for a long t-time, and… uh…"

Knuckles merely sighed and shook his head.

"Crystal, you don't have to be nervous. I know that you think very highly of me because I'm the Master Emerald Guardian, but just because I guard it doesn't mean I'm some kind of deity or something. I'm just your regular, average Echidna."

"I-I see…"

With this, Knuckles felt that he managed to calm down Crystal enough to approach her. When he stood up from his seat, Crystal kind of panicked to herself a bit, but steadied herself. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, but to her; meeting the Guardian was an extremely big thing to absorb. Knuckles could once again sense her getting nervous, so he made sure to stop a good enough distance away from her, but managed to remain close enough to show that he was willing to befriend her.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Uh… I guess…"

"Could you remove your hood? I would like to see your face…"

Crystal was taken completely by surprise by this question, and (without thinking) grabbed her hood and hid her face from view as best she could with it.

"I… I'm s-so sorry… I… I… I just…"

Crystal began to break down into tears: she was panicking even more than before now, which was a mistake that Knuckles was hoping to avoid making. He realized now that he was a little bit too eager to ask that question, but if he was to finally earn her trust he had to get her to show him her face willingly.

"Crystal, I… didn't mean to upset you."

"I… I-I'm… just… not…"

Knuckles had to think quickly. He was loosing her, and had to find a way to get her confidence back up. He thought for a moment, but finally figured something out.

"Crystal," he began, "I want to tell you a story… You see, when I was a kid, I was all alone on Angel Island. I had no Father, no Mother, not even a single friend to keep me company. All I had was an almost obsessive instinct to protect the Master Emerald. For years I lived on the island all alone, with no knowledge of the world outside, and no contact with any life other than the small animals that shared the island with me. That was the way it stayed… for a while…"

Crystal had, by this time, managed to calm down a bit. She still gripped at her hood, but she had loosened it a bit.

"I'll never forget that day: when the Death Egg crashed into the island. The weight of the giant battle station was so great that it pushed the entire island down until it floated upon the ocean itself. Eggman was the first human I had ever met, and with no knowledge of his past misdeeds I was easily manipulated by him. I was made to believe that Sonic & Tails were after the Chaos Emeralds that I had, and constantly attempted to hinder their progress towards their REAL goal: stopping Eggman. I still remember to this day the fight that we had in the Hidden Palace Zone. His speed against my strength; we were so evenly matched that I didn't think the fight would end. It wasn't until Eggman swiped the Master Emerald that I realized that I was betrayed…"

By now, Crystal had let go of her hood and was now staring straight at Knuckles; her lime green eyes never leaving his face.

"…Even after all I did, and even after everything I put them through, Sonic & Tails were both quick to help me get the Master Emerald back. After that incident, I sometimes left the isle to lend a hand against Eggman's plans when they asked. At first I only did it because I felt as though I owed them for returning my emerald to me, but as the years went on I found that they really did trust me, and that I began to trust them. Sure, Sonic and I have had our differences, and we often times fought, but we have a strong respect for one another…"

Crystal nodded her head, confirming she had understood everything Knuckles had just said, but remained quiet.

"…You see, Crystal: Trust is something that is vital to both alliances and friendships. You must be willing to trust someone if they believe in you, and willing to work to gain that trust in return. I know that you trust me, but I need to know if I can trust you…"

Knuckles slowly closed the distance between him & Crystal until they were a few inches away from each other.

"…and how can I know that I can trust you if you won't even show me your face?"

Crystal's eyes widened in realization: he was right! In her being so shy as to desperately hide her face, she gave off a feeling of untrustworthiness to the one person most vital to the end of Black Rose's tyranny; and as an Elemental Guardian, she couldn't let something that trivial happen.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing herself a bit, Crystal mustered up all of her courage and pulled her hood back, revealing who, and WHAT, she was to him: an Echidna. Knuckles was, of course, taken a bit back by this realization, but he really didn't seem all too surprised.

"So," he mused, "my suspicions were correct: you ARE an echidna."

"You mean you knew?" Crystal asked.

"Kinda. After chasing Black Rose off my island, I had a feeling I'd run into more echidnas as I went along. I just didn't expect it to be so soon."

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Well, no… It's just that… well…"

Knukcles sighed and hung his head.

"All my life I truly believed myself to be the last Echidna alive, but… With the whole Twilight Cage event, finding out that the Nocturnus clan still existed, and now this…? I just don't know what to think anymore…"

Crystal could see that Knuckles was clearly confused and not sure what to do. She was about to console him, but he managed to snap out of it in time.

"Be that as it may, we have a much more immediate problem right now: finding the Chosen & stopping Black Rose."

"Right," agreed Crystal, "But it may take too long to simply look for the remaining Chosen, so I suggest going ahead and taking those whom we have already found to the shrines to be tested & trained."

"Then I guess it's time to tell our friends the plan, and figure out the best place to start off…"

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**Slam422: And with this; the Intermission chapters come to a conclusion. FINALLY I CAN START THE NEXT ARC!!!**

**To be honest with you all, I've been looking forward to the next arc very much. I've actually been playing around with many ideas for this arc, and I'm pretty sure that what I've pieced together is going to be quite fun for me to write.**

**Speaking of which: I want to know what you all think of the story so far. More importantly I want your guys' input on how the more recent chapters stand up to the earlier ones. I've been meaning to go back and redo the old chapters (getting rid of that horrid game-style chapter, for one, and replace it with something a bit more story-based)**

**DISCLAIMER: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Eggman & All related characters, areas, themes & such are all © Sega™ and Sonic Team™. Slam, Stealth, Crystal, Circuit, Black Rose, the Shadow Demons & all other such characters & themes belong to Slam422**

**Slam422: Until next time; Later Days!**


	13. Into the Frozen Wastes

**Slam422: Because I am having trouble with writers block, I've decided to skip ahead a bit to the start of the second arc. But don't worry about being confused as to what happened between the end of the previous arc & the beginning of this next one, as this chapter will start out with a small explanation that will depict what happens between then & now. Now, I know that may seem like I'm trying cop out on you guys (which is more than likely the case), but REALLY BAD writers block forced my hand.**

**Forgive me if this chapter seems a bit rushed in its overall layout. I just wanted to get it out so that I could get back into the groove of writing again. I really want to finish this story, and since I'm only 13 chapters in from the past several years of working on this, I REALLY got to get cracking! I hope you enjoy this chapter…**

**

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Story Arc 2: Soul of Ice**

**Chapter 13: Into the Frozen Wastes

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_Several miles south of Station Square is the Mystic Ruins: a dense jungle filled with the ruins of the Echidna civilizations that stand as a reminder of the past cultures that once existed before our modern age of living. Normally you can reach the ruins simply by taking a train from Station Square, but as the city was destroyed, our heroes were forced to take the long route._

_But why the need for the move to Tails' workshop, you are wondering? Well, they needed a new place to set up their base of operations while the salvage & repair operations for Station Square & the surrounding residential districts. Since the GUN Commander had to oversee the efforts, he stayed behind & put Shadow in charge of reporting back to him as things developed._

_When the group reached Tails' workshop, he introduced them to his latest invention, the X Tornado (yes; THAT X Tornado). This would prove to be the main mode of transportation for the group as they traveled across the planet to each of the elemental Echidna villages. Since the plane could only seat four, the group decided that it was best for the group to split up into a team of four each time they set out (Tails (who would fly the X Tornado), Knuckles, one of the Chosen & one other) Since they had to have Crystal show them where the villages were located, it was decided (much to Rouge's displeasure) the first stop would be the Ice Echidna village. And so, the quartet set out on the first leg of their newest adventure, not realizing the danger that awaits them…_

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The frozen surface of the Holoska tundra shone bright in the mid day sun, reflecting the light off its snowy surface. Many large structures & pathways formed naturally from the ice twisted & turned all around, creating pathways & obstacles that have become expected from the Sonic games. High above, flying in the X Tornado, Tails & Knuckles (sitting in the front pod) marveled at the site of these natural works of art. All the while, Crystal (sitting in the back pod with Rouge) stayed quiet & looked out over her frozen home of old & reminisced of days gone by since she left long ago on her quest to find the Chosen, and wondered if she would be welcomed back with open arms.

Rouge, however, did not see a beautiful natural landscape or a pace of reminiscence when she looked below to the surface far below. Instead she saw an ugly, icy wasteland that, as she felt, was a harbinger of the most despicable of all evils. Why she had such disdain for the ice & snow was still a mystery, but what was certain was that she was unmovable in her beliefs.

Despite Rouge's less-than-respectable behavior, the trip was very much enjoyable. There were clear skies all the way and it seemed as though there would be very little resistance. That, of course, was broken when a sudden jolt to the ship brought everyone to attention.

"What the heck was that?!" Rouge exclaimed.

Tails looked down at his console and pressed a small button in front of him, bringing up a radar screen that showed several objects approaching them.

"We've got hostiles incoming from behind!" he confirmed as another blast caused them to shake, "Crystal, Rouge, can you see who's shooting at us?"

Both Crystal & Rouge frantically searched around to see where the enemy fire was coming from, when yet another blast brought their attention over to the right side.

Their assailers were robotic bird flyers, which looked a bit like vultures. They looked like something Eggman would make, but they were painted black, with glowing red eyes.

"We're being assaulted by Shadow Demon Mecha-Flyers!" Crystal exclaimed.

"Should have known Black Rose wouldn't let us get to the village that easily," Knuckles stated, "Tails, this thing got any weapons on it?"

"Does Sonic run fast?" Tails replied playfully. "Hang on guys & gals; I'm switching this baby into battle mode!"

With that said, Tails pressed a couple of buttons on his terminal & pulled a small lever back. Instantaneously, the X Tornado transformed; its wings folding back & its main thrusters folding in, revealing a secondary jet engine.

The X Tornado blasted forward at high speeds, looping around before heading straight on into the enemy Mecha-Flyers. The Flyers were quick to unload a salvo of heat-seeking missiles, but Tails was quick to launch several flares to draw the missiles off. With the missiles taken care of, Tails quickly fires off a hail of laser fire, taking out several of the ships.

A handful of Flyers attempted to dive bomb the X Tornado as the fired of rounds of their ammo, and the plane was nicked a few times. However, Tails managed to avoid a good number of the shots before firing several homing missiles at them, taking them out.

"Nice moves, Tails," Knuckles complimented, "But there's more coming! Radar shows at least a two dozen more on the way!"

"I see them!" said Tails as he barrel rolled out of the way of an incoming laser blast.

The reinforcements this time consisted not only of the Mecha-Flyers, but of UFO-shaped attack pods mounted with laser rifles. The UFO pods were firing a barrage of laser fire as a distraction as the Flyers attempted to dive bomb into the X Tornado.

"Argh," Tails grunted in frustration, "there's too many of them; I can't shake them!"

"We'll be shot down at this rate!" Knuckles commented, "What are we going to do?!"

"Well," Crystal noted as she was shook by another explosion against the plane, "those UFO pods are actually controlled by remote, but they are equipped with a manual override. If one of us can get control of one of those pods, then maybe we can use it to disable the others via a remote signal."

"And you know this h-OWCH?!" Rouge attempted to ask, before having her head banged against the roof of the pod from another jolt.

"Those pods were originally designed by Darkness Echidna scientists before the fall of their village by the hands of Black Rose. Their designs & blueprints were archived in the Ice Echidna Village."

"Well," Rouge said as she nursed a large lump on her head, "what are you waiting for?! Get out there & get them to stop!"

"…But, I can't fly…"

"WHAT?! B-but, aren't Echidna's supposed to be able to glide on air currents?"

"No Echidna other than one of the Guardian race can do such a feat."

"It looks like you're going to have to be the one to go out there & hijack the pod, Rouge!" said Knuckles.

"I'm not going out there; it's too cold!"

"Rouge, your one of seven prophesized warriors chosen by the spirits of ancient & powerful artifacts that wields the full fury of the Ice element; I don't think that the cold is going to be a problem for you!"

"………Fine. I'll do it……… but I won't like it…"

With a press of a button, the cockpit dome rose up, and Rouge jumped out into the air & took flight. As Knuckles had stated, thanks to her new Ice powers the freezing air blowing against her body didn't really seem to bother her much. Not that she really liked having them; Rouge admitted to herself that these powers might be useful for the time being.

She wasn't able to think to herself for all that long, however, as she was automatically targeted by one of the UFO pods & shot at. Rouge, however, saw this attack coming and managed to avoid being hit by it at the last second. The pods continued their fire against her, not letting up, but Rouge was able to outmaneuver every single blast. However, despite her best efforts, she wasn't able to get close enough to any of the pods."

"Damn," Rouge cursed to herself, "this isn't good: if I don't figure out a way to get into one of the pods, Knuckles & the others will be annihilated!"

Rouge looked at her hands, and thought for a moment.

"_Maybe if I use those ice powers that the emeralds cursed me with, I can create a shield of Ice that I can use to deflect those lasers for long enough to get me up to one of the pods…… ARGH! I can't believe I have to be the one to get these powers, especially after what happened!"_

Having made her decision, Rouge concentrated hard & focused her ice energy into her arms. Almost instantaneously, the lower half of her arms immediately iced over, and a large lump of ice formed around her fist and quickly formed into a large shield. She was a bit stunned at how easy it seemed despite having not done it at all, but it wasn't enough to let her forget that she was in the middle of a battle.

One of the pods came swooping in at her, firing off its lasers in a hopeless attempt to hit her. Though the shield she just made slowed her movement down a bit from its weight, she was still able to avoid a good deal of the lasers, using the shield to deflect the rest.

"_This shield I made is working alright so far, but if I want to get into one of those pods, I'm going to have to get one isolated from the rest."_

Deflecting some of the laser fire, Rouge managed to get close enough to one of the pods to attempt to attract its attention. The camera "eye" of the pod instantly caught Rouge in its sight, and fired off a volley of laser fire in all directions. Rouge took refuge behind her shield, but the lasers quickly ate away at it. By the time that the volley of fire ended, Rouge was holding nothing more than a small ice fragment in her hand.

Looking down at the small ice chunk in her hand, and then at the UFO charging up it's attack, Rouge did the only sensible thing & ran… well, FLEW away.

The pod was hot on her tail: Rouge tried looping & spinning, swooping & turning, even dashing & flailing, but that pod wouldn't get off of her…

…Just as Rouge had planned! As soon as she let the pod get close enough, she quickly managed to flip up in the air and lad smack dab on top of the pod. Using the ice chunk that she was still holding on to, she cracked open the top of the pod & ripped out its camera, revealing a small, yet somewhat spacious cockpit.

"All right," Rouge said into her com-link, "I've entered the pod! What do I do?"

"_You're going to need to do a bit of rewiring to do a force-reboot the manual guidance system."_ Crystal responded, _"First, you're going to have to remove the console casing and…"_

As Crystal told Rouge what to do, Rouge was quick to configure everything exactly as it needed to be. There were a few close calls where Rouge almost did something wrong, but for the most part she did exactly as she said.

"…_Finally, hook the orange wire back up to the main circuit board, and that should do it!"_

Rouge hooked up the wire as was told & reconnected the console panel. The moment she did, the pod shook violently as it stopped in mid air, & just hovered there.

"…Okay, I've got control of the pod now… I think… Now what do I need to do?"

"_Just hit the red override switch. The rest should take care of itself."_

With a simple shrug of her shoulders to show she understood, Rouge pressed the red button in front of her. Almost immediately, the pod that she was in shut down, and dropped from the sky. She managed to bail out before it dropped, and watched as it & all the other pods flying around fell from the sky, leaving only the few Mecha-flyers left, all of which were taken out easily by a barrage of homing missiles from the X Tornado.

"We did it!" exclaimed Tails in excitement as Rouge got back into the plane.

"And it was all thanks to Rouge & Crystal," Knuckles congratulated, "you both really pulled our butts out of the fire!"

"And just WHY are you thanking HER?!" Rouge said, somewhat offended, "I didn't see little Miss Ice Queen go out there & risk her life trying to stop those pods!"

"ROUGE!" Knuckles scolded, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Ever since you got those powers you've been acting like a complete jerk: WHAT IS YOUR DEAL!!!"

Before Rouge had a chance to answer, though, a beep from the radar distracted everyone.

"I'm picking up some unusual atmospheric activity up ahead. It looks like… WHAT IN THE?!..."

"What is it Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"You guys aren't going to believe this, but according to the scanners there is a concentrated blizzard up ahead that is creating an almost impassable wall!"

"Oh, that must be the Village Limit Barrier!" Crystal explained.

"…Village Limit Barrier?" Rouge inquired, still having that pissed off tone in her voice, "And what, may I ask, is that?"

"The Village Limit Barrier is, as Tails called it, a 'blizzard-like wall' that our ancestors erected around the Ice Echidna Village & its surrounding territory to prevent anyone from the outside world from finding us. They feared that if the humans or any other race on the planet were ever to find out that we were guarding a power of unequalled strength that they would attempt to claim it for themselves. And if they ever did, you could kiss this planet goodbye!"

"I don't see why you don't just destroy the damn power," Rouge added, "Not only would that prevent it from falling into evil hands, but you could all come out of hiding."

"No! The power of the Elemental Souls is the very embodiment of the elements that make up this & all worlds, not to mention key components to reawakening the Master of Chaos when the time comes. If they were destroyed, it would create an imbalance so great that it could destroy existence as we know it!"

"Geez, alright! Sorry I asked!"

"But how are we even going to get through?" Tails asked, "The X Tornado may be tough, but there is no way we could make it through there, even if we hadn't sustained any damage in that fight!"

"Leave that to me." Crystal replied.

Closing her eyes, Crystal placed her hand on the glass of the cockpit dome & focused her energies. Her body began to glow with an icy aura as the plane started to become enveloped in an ice blue field of energy.

"Now, Tails," Crystal instructed, "Fly into the blizzard!"

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

"It's alright; my shield will offer us safe passage through the storm. Once we're through, we should be able to see the village & be able to land."

Despite Crystal's assurance, the gang was still somewhat uneasy about the whole idea. Regardless, it was their only choice at the moment, so Tails went ahead & began his approach. As they approached the wall, Tails could feel the winds picking up & the snow falling harder. It was beginning to get difficult for Tails to keep control. Knuckles & Rouge could feel the plane jerking around in the increasingly strong winds & rattled by snow & ice chunks. Approaching the wall, Tails began to unnerve, and was ready to turn away at any moment.

But by that time it was too late; something kept the X Tornado on its course, and that something was the winds. Somehow, the barrier that Crystal had made around the plane was pushing it through the wall with no resistance whatsoever. Before anyone knew it, they were out of the blizzard and flying through clear skies.

Tails, Knuckles & Rouge were all dumbfounded. Tails had a death grip on the controls, Knuckles had practically ripped the arm rests off his seat, and Rouge was now upside down in her seat, having not been able to re-fasten her harness before the turbulence. Crystal, however, was completely fine, save for being a bit tired from the sudden drain of her energy. However, she managed to regain her strength quickly.

"Phew," she sighed, "THAT was a new experience! I've never had to pass an entire jet through the barrier before. I just thank the Spirits that I'm able to have the energy & control to pull that off!"

Crystal's statement was met with a 2 minute long awkward silence.

"…Well," she continued, "in any case, we should be seeing the village soon. It's been so long since I was last here, I wonder if everything is the same as when I left it?"

"Uh," Rouge began, "Crystal, was your home a giant, foreboding ice fortress when you left?"

"…No, but why do you ask?"

Rouge simply pointed out the cockpit window. Sitting up in her seat, Crystal looked down to the ground below, and gasped at what she saw. It wasn't the village that she grew up in as a child, but instead an evil & Shadow Demon infested fortress of implied death.

"…Oh no…" Crystal worried as tears began to well up in her eyes, "…the village…. It's……"

Crystal didn't have time to mourn, however, as another sudden jolt rocked the ship. From far below, inside the fortress, large cannons were rising from hidden hatches & firing beams of Ice energy at the X Tornado.

"We're taking fire!" Knuckles exclaimed, "Tails; get us out of here!"

"I'm trying," Tails responded, "but there's something wrong with the controls; they aren't responding the way I want them to!"

Another blast hit the X Tornado, causing the entire underside & one of the main engines to freeze over.

"It's no use!" Tails exclaimed, "The controls are frozen solid & we're going down; BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!"

"THIS IS WHY I HATE THE ICE ELEMENT!!!" Rouge screamed as the plane soared over the fortress and began hurtling towards the ground. Tails pulled back on the controls as hard as he could, hoping that he could level out enough to reduce the severity of the landing, but the wing flaps were all frozen over. The ground was getting closer & closer, and Tails was pulling harder & harder.

Then, Tails gave one last, final, extreme pull on the stick. The ice that was holding the flaps down finally shattered & broke off, allowing Tails to level out some… but not enough to avoid a severe crash. The belly of the X Tornado slammed hard against the ground, causing it to be forced back into the air for a short distance before bouncing again & then rolling like a log for several yards, all before coming to a deathly halt.

The X Tornado was in a wreck, its pieces littering the ground all around. Tails was knocked out against his console, his arm broken & blood coming from a wound on his head. Knuckles hung out of the broken dome, his leg (broken) snagged on his safety harness. Crystal was also knocked out, and suffered from a pretty serious looking gash across her right leg.

Rouge had been thrown completely from the wreck when they crashed, landing a couple yards away from the X Tornado in a large snow bank. She had a couple of nasty wounds, but managed to stay conscious. She tried to pull herself up to her feet, in hopes of seeing if everyone was okay, but she was too weak from the crash & was beginning to loose consciousness.

However, as her vision blurred, something looked like it was approaching her. All she could see was a black, blurry blob, but it was getting closer & closer. As the unknown being stretched out its arm for her, unconscious sleep finally took over Rouge's body, and she passed out in the snow…

**

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Slam422: Mysterious cliffhanger is mysterious!

…**I really cannot think of anything to say right now, other than I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as I enjoyed typing it! This has really been what I needed to get back into the swing of things, and I couldn't be happier!**

**I'm not going to promise that the next chapter will be out soon: we all know how that went last time. However, I am going to be working on it & get it done! THIS I SWEAR!!!**

**Please R&R and stay tuned to your Computer Screen for the next chapter!**

**Until next time, Later Days!**


	14. Memories Revealed

_Note from the Author: From now on I will not be having pre-chapter notes unless I need to make an important announcement. Sorry to those of you who liked the foreword, but this is my decision to make & I've made it._

_Now, please enjoy the chapter!_

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Chapter 14: Memories Revealed

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An icy wind blew throughout the frozen fortress that stood menacingly over the remains of the Ice Echidna Village. Quiet, cold, evil: this fortress of death & destruction seemed to lack any life within.

Deep in the frozen recesses of this place of evil, the evil echidna of living ice, Frosta the Cold, sat upon her icy throne. She was in deep meditation; eyes closed and an aura of dark energy surrounding her. She had given strict orders to her troops not to disturb her as she prepared herself for her upcoming fight unless it was an extreme emergency.

However, one brave Shadow Demon, an Ice Grunt, had urgent news to tell his mistress. News that he believed warranted him interrupting his mistress' meditation, despite the danger to his well-being.

As the Ice Grunt approached his mistress, a low rumble could be felt throughout the room. His mistress was not pleased.

"_I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to be disturbed unless it was an emergency!"_ Frosta said, not seeming at all pleased.

"P-please forgive…" the Ice Grunt started, but he was cut short as an icy claw extended up out of the floor and grasped the demon by the throat. Frosta got up from her seat, and in what seemed like an instant quickly moved over to where the demon was being held.

"_You have three seconds before I rip your head off. Explain!"_

"M-Mistress…" the Ice Grunt gasped, "…T-the Guardian… The Chosen… T-they're…"

"_Too late."_

With a mere thought, Frosta made the claw squeeze tightly around the neck of the demon, causing the ice that made up it's body to instantly shatter and, with a scream of pain, destroy the demon.

"…_So, the fools came after all; a fatal mistake. They will attempt to rally those who still resist & try to destroy me."_

Frosta looked back towards her throne, to an ice pillar behind it that looked like something, or someone, was frozen inside of it.

"_I'm sure that you sense it to, my dear companion; the power that I've searched for returning to the home that she missed so dearly, only to find all that she cared for gone in an instant. Once she finds out about you, she will come to fight, to try and save you…"_

Frosta slowly walked back over to her throne. Turning around & sitting back down, an evil smile stretched across her icy face.

"…_and when she does, I will finally attain the last piece of the puzzle, and then the world will fall at my feet!"_

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"Vitals are stabilizing; damaged tissue repair at 75% and climbing."

"_Huh? What? Who… Who's there?"_

"Sir, I'm registering mental activities. She's starting to come around."

"_W-where… am I? What…"_

Rouge's eyes slowly began to open, though they were met with a bit of a sting. Her vision was in a blur at first, only able to see a greenish blur at first, but as her vision started to come back, she could tell that she was floating in some kind of greenish liquid inside of a cylindrical stasis tube. Rouge had a breathing mask over her mouth, and was wired to a bio-scanner via various points on her body, which (might I add) was currently naked save for a bra & panties."

"So, you're finally coming to, eh?"

Rouge lifted her head up a bit in an attempt to see who was speaking to her, but her vision was still blurred to the point where she couldn't really see outside the tube that she was in.

"W-who… is there?" Rouge asked weakly, obviously still weakened from the crash, "W-what… what happened? Where…"

"Do not try to speak." The voice asked, "You & your friends were in real bad shape after the crash of your ship. You were just lucky that I had several scouts in the area, or you all may have been killed."

"Who… are you?"

"My name is Glacier; former General of the Ice Village Guard & leader of the Ice Division Resistance."

"Ice Village… guard…? Are you… an Echidna?"

"Ah, so you cannot see me. That is to be expected: a small side effect of the medical serum that you are floating in is a severe, if extremely temporary, blurring of vision. Not very fun, especially after coming out of a scenario like yours. I should know; as I've been in several such situations throughout my career. But to answer your question: yes, I am an Echidna. Though I'm sure that doesn't surprise you."

"What about… the others? Knuckles…, Tails…, and Crystal?"

"Your friends are fine. They, like you, suffered severe injuries in the crash, but they are all recovering in pods just like you. Out of the others, however, your wounds were the least severe, so you are healing much faster than the others."

"Sir," said another voice, "readout confirms that our guest has been completely healed and is ready for release from the pod."

"Do it."

There was a brief silence in the room before a loud hum could be heard from below. A sudden rush of liquid passed her body told Rouge that they had opened a drain in the floor of the pod, draining out the green medical serum from the pod. As the liquid drained out, Rouge floated down & eventually fell to her hands & knees, still somewhat drained & wet with some leftover serum.

When the pod opened, Rouge fell out and into what felt like the arms of a big person. As she felt this person wrap her with a towel to help her dry off the leftover serum from her body, her vision started to come back to her, and she could finally see the face of her rescuer.

He was indeed an Echidna, and was pretty big (about the size of Vector or Big if you want a comparison. He had a broad upper-body & large arms, was a dark icy blue color, and had a long, spiky moustache & beard combo that, to Rouge, looked kinda like ice that had formed on his face. His forehead was adorned with an X-shaped scar, and he wore a parka with an icy blue camouflage-print parka & a pair of steel-toed snow boots.

Rouge correctly assumed that this was Glacier.

"Here," he offered, "Let me help you get some of this serum off you. It tends to freeze up rather quickly in this icy air, and I'd rather not have you turn into a batsicle."

Rouge pushed herself off of Glacier & managed to get herself to stand, despite still being in quite a bit of pain, & took the towel.

"Thanks," she said, "but I'd rather dry myself off, if you don't mind."

"Oh, o-of course; my sincerest apologies. Oh, but that reminds me…"

Glacier turned to a large chest sitting in the corner of the room & opened it, taking out what appeared to be a purple, full-bodied snowsuit that looked like it would be a perfect fit for Rouge.

"…when you crashed, your clothes were torn quite a bit. Since you will be staying with us for some time, I had these special snow suits prepared for you and your friends."

Rouge took the snowsuit from Glacier & looked at it for a moment before giving a side glance back to the large Echidna & then stepping behind what appeared to be a computer of some kind to hide her naked form as she dried off and got dressed.

"So, uh…" Glacier Began.

"Rouge; Rouge the Bat."

"Right, Rouge. So, Rouge, how did you manage to meet up with Crystal, anyway?"

"…You know who Crystal is?"

"Since she was a baby; I'm actually her godfather, and took care of her when her parents had some…'work related' things that they had to take care of. I was practically a second father to her."

"…"

"Is something wrong?"

"…I'm sorry, it's just that… From your appearance, you really don't look like the fatherly type."

"Meh, its fine. If there's one thing that I've learned in life, it's to not judge a book by its cover. In any case, how did you end up traveling with her, anyway?"

Rouge walked out from behind her cover, now dry & dressed in her snowsuit, and confronted Glacier with a somewhat intimidating stare.

"I really don't think I should be telling you that."

"What do you mean?"

"Why should I trust you enough to tell you anything? I know nothing about you other than your name & your 'supposed' rescue of me and my friends! For all I know YOU could have been the one who shot down the X Tornado!"

"Rouge, I assure you that isn't the case!"

"Well forgive me if I don't believe that. If it's all right with you, I'm just going to wait until the others wake up before we discuss anything."

"…Well…alright then; I suppose you have your reasons for your lack of trust in me, so instead we shall wait until your friends awaken."

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It would be a few hours before Knuckles & the others would be fully healed, so during that time, Rouge was asked to wait in a side guest room. She was impressed when she saw that they actually had satellite TV, as well as a Wii gaming console with several games. She was also surprised to discover that, despite this being a base-of-operations for a group of Ice Elementalist Echidnas, that it was actually kept rather warm in the base.

"_I guess even Ice users get cold from time to time."_ Rouge thought to herself as she slipped a copy of Brawl into the Wii.

For the next couple of hours, Rouge played through some of the story mode of Subspace Emissary, played a few rounds of bowling in Wii Sports, tried out S&TSR & S&TBK before ejecting them immediately out of disgust, and rounding it off with other random games (many of which were Mario games, for some odd reason).

The entire time that Rouge was in this guest room, no one had come in or out. She didn't really mind, as the peace & quiet is just what she needed after the last couple of stressful days. Finding out she was the chosen of an element she hated with a passion, fighting for survival against an uncountable number of Shadow Demons, not to mention the long flight to Holoska coupled with the near death experience she just experienced; Rouge just wanted to unwind & forget about everything that was happening.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. As Rouge was just getting ready to try out a new game that caught her eye, the door leading out of the room opened. Rouge looked back to see a rather frail-looking echidna enter. His fur was snow white with Icy Blue stripes in his quills, which were tied back in a ponytail. He wore a long, white coat with a sash in the middle, and he held what appeared to be a clipboard.

"Miss Rouge," he said, "my name is Shard, second-in-command of the Ice Echidna Resistance. Commander Glacier has asked me to come and inform you that your friends have made a full recovery and are awaiting you in the conference room. Please, follow me."

Rouge just simply shrugged her shoulders and followed.

As Rouge followed Shard out of the room & down the long corridor, something started to bother Rouge: a sort of Déjà-vu feeling started to come over her. She felt, almost as if she had been here before.

Shard seemed to notice this.

"Is anything wrong, Miss Rouge?"

"Hmm?" said Rouge, being snapped out of her thoughts.

"I said, is there anything wrong? You seem to be in very deep thought."

"Oh, it's just, well… This place seems… somewhat familiar to me, is all. I get this weird feeling that I've been here before, but I can't remember."

"Well, I'm not completely sure why you would feel that way, but if it helps; this place is actually an abandoned GUN research facility."

"What?!"

"Oh yes. There were researchers here studying the barrier that we had erected; nice bunch of people, actually. In fact, I remember this nice married couple who…"

"Wait a minute!" Rouge interrupted, "You're saying this like you knew them."

"I did, actually."

"But I thought that you Echidnas made it your number one priority to keep yourselves hidden from the outside world?"

"It was our Queen's idea. You see; she figured that they would have eventually found their way through the barrier one way or another, and if that happened she was sure that they would report their finding to the GUN forces…"

"…and then the world would find out about the power that your people protected, attracting villains & terrorists to your city in a never-ending campaign to seize it."

"Exactly: and our Queen figured that if we went ahead and took a chance to reveal ourselves to them & explain our situation…"

"…that they would see that you were telling the truth, and would promise to keep the city a secret. Brilliant! Your Queen must be a very wise & noble woman; something that I don't usually expect from those who are allied with the Ice element."

"Yes… She was…"

"Wait; 'was'? What happened to her?"

"That you will find out soon enough. We've arrived."

Rouge looked up at the large doorway that was ahead. Through it, she could see both Tails & Knuckles, who were now wearing winter coats in their respective colors. Rouge was relieved to see her partners were alright.

As Rouge entered, she also spied Crystal, who was sporting an entirely new outfit. Instead of the sweater/jeans/boots/bandana combo, she was now wearing a more modest outfit that consisted of a tan-colored silk, button-up shirt w/sleeves rolled up about halfway, a blue sweater vest, blue bell-bottom denim jeans, her usual purple crystal bracelets over white gloves, a green headband in place of the old bandana, and, to round it off, a pair of tan, steel-toed sneakers (some things just never change, do they?).

"Rouge!" Crystal exclaimed in happiness, "You're alright!"

"Good to see you survived the crash," said Knuckles.

"We were all worried about you." Tails added.

"Well," Rouge said in response, "what did you expect; that the author was gonna kill me off in a daring plot twist?"

Everyone just stared at her at this comment.

"Er, never mind."

"Well," said Glacier, who had just entered, "Now that everyone is gathered, let's get down to business."

"Papa Glacier!" Crystal exclaimed as she ran over & glommed onto her godfather in a big hug.

"Ho!" Glacier grunted as he was practically tackled to the ground, "Crystal, my favorite goddaughter, it's great to see you again as well! But please, be careful with your affectionate hugs; I'm getting fragile in my old age!"

"Oh, Papa Glacier, You aren't old; you're only 46 years old!"

*A-HEM*

Both Glacier & Crystal looked over to Rouge, who had cleared her throat to get their attention.

"While I'd rather not have to break up such a _happy_ reunion," Rouge began, "we do need to get down to business."

"You've got a point, Rouge," Glacier agreed as Crystal released her hug, "I'm sure that I've more than proved that I'm trustworthy to you by now…"

"_We'll soon see about that…"_ Rogue thought, still not trusting Glacier.

"…so allow me to ask you what brings the three of you here? I assume that, since you are all traveling with Crystal, you've come to help us in some way?"

"You could say that." Knuckles said. "We've actually come to finish the awakening of the Chosen of Ice."

"The Chosen of Ice?! So you mean that…"

"Yup: Rouge over there was chosen by the Chaos Emeralds, and there are others who await their awakening back at our home base."

"Well, if that is so, then I assume that you, as the current Master Emerald Guardian, know that we need the Soul of Ice in order to awaken the full power of the Chosen."

"Of course," Tails added, "that's kind of a given."

"Yeah," said Rouge, "so let's stop beating around the bush & do this! The sooner you guys _awaken_ me, or whatever nonsense, the sooner I can get out of this frozen nightmare."

Glacier looked at Rouge, then hung his head & walked somewhat slowly over to the chair that sat at the head of the table & sat down.

"I am sorry to say… that it may not be as simple as you think it is. The Soul of Ice… has fallen into evil hands…"

"WHAT?!" Knuckles & Tails both exclaimed simultaneously.

"_*sigh*"_ Rouge mentally groaned, _"I should've known it was too good to be true…"_

"But," Tails asked in confusion, "I thought that Crystal had the Soul of Ice! I mean, she told us that she was its guardian!"

"I am its guardian," Crystal said, "but our laws state that no one, not even the Elemental Guardian, is allowed to take an Elemental Soul from its village until the Chosen of Chaos comes to claim it…"

Crystal immediately turned to Glacier, a look of worry on her face.

"…Papa Glacier; what happened to Mom!"

Glacier became somewhat uneasy when Crystal asked this.

"Uh, y-your mother? Uh, what… would make you think that… anything happened to…"

"Don't play dumb! I gave the Soul of Ice to Mom for protection while I was gone for the last three years looking for the Chosen of Chaos & the Master Emerald Guardian, and you know as well as I do that, as the former Guardian of Ice, she has more power & control over the element than even I have! If the Soul of Ice has fallen into evil hands as you said, then what happened to my Mother?!"

Glacier was now starting to get a bit frantic. He tried desperately to think of something to tell her so she wouldn't be worried and end up doing something stupid, but unfortunately he could think of nothing to say that Crystal would believe. With a heavy & regretful sigh, he gave in.

"……Frosta the Cold…"

"Huh?"

"That is the name of the villainess who has singlehandedly conquered our village & turned it into the demonic fortress that you saw before crashing. She is also the one who has stolen the power of the Elemental Soul of Ice…"

Everyone (except Rouge) sat quietly & listened as Glacier told his tail.

"It happened… not long after you left on your quest, Crystal. No one saw it coming, nor could we have predicted what would be in store for us when it happened. She just appeared, out of nowhere, with an army of Shadow Demons much more powerful than any we had faced before. Our greatest warriors, said to be just as great in skill & power as the Fire Echidnas; nothing when compared to the might of this incarnation of pure evil. Those who were captured were corrupted & turned into Ice Sentinels that would do her bidding without question, and those who resisted her will or attempted to fight… were executed mercilessly…"

As Glacier spoke of what happened, our heroes were all taken aback by this tale. Knuckles clenched his fist in anger at this evil, while Tails was on the edge of his seat with a look of worry & fear on his face. Crystal began to tear up a bit, worrying so much for her mother & the others who were captured, and even Rouge was unsettled by these events.

"…There was nothing to stop her from making her way to the Palace. I still remember that fateful day, and what that……monster did…"

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_The walls of the throne room rumbled as small cunks of ice & debris fell from the ceiling. Sitting in her throne was Queen Snowflake, the leader of the Ice Echidna tribe. A look of great concern was on her face as she heard the explosions & screams of those who were caught in the battle outside._

_Just then, Glacier burst in, a panicked expression on his face._

"_My Queen!" he exclaimed, "Our secondary line of defense has failed: the Shadow Demons are at the gates of the palace & are poised to strike at any moment! We must flee before they break through & capture you!"_

"…_How many were able to escape?" she asked._

"_We sent the word for evacuation the moment the demons attacked. A good majority have been able to escape to the abandoned GUN base outside of the barrier, as per regulation, but not everyone was able to get away in time."_

"…_Those poor people…"_

"_Please, your majesty, we must escape as well!"_

"…_No, I will stay & fight…"_

"_WHAT?! B-but, my Queen…"_

"…_If I were to escape with you, then this threat would only follow us to our refuge. They want me, and the Soul of Ice. They will get it, but I will make sure that they can never use it to harm anyone."_

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Glacier reached into his pocket, and took out a golden necklace. Crystal recognized it instantly.

"T-that's…" she stuttered.

"…your mother's necklace. Before I left, she gave it to me & told me to give it to you when you returned. She wanted you to know that she loved you & that she wanted you to be strong."

Glacier walked over behind Crystal, and placed the necklace around her neck, fastening it in place.

"After I fled," Glacier continued, "I gathered up as many soldiers as I could & escaped the boundaries of the barrier. When we all got out, a flash of light enveloped the barrier. It wasn't until later that I found out that the flash was a spell cast by your mother to seal Frosta's power inside of the barrier so that she couldn't use the soul on the people of this world. By the time I got my forces assembled to invade the conquered city & take it back, it was too late. Frosta had already transformed it into the frozen fortress that she calls home, and both Shadow Demons & Ice Sentinels roamed the fields of Ice & Snow that surrounded it. We were never able to find out if she survived her encounter with Frosta or not……we fear the worst…"

Crystal placed her hand caringly on the necklace that hung around her neck. Her eyes now flowing with tears, she clenched her fist in anger before dashing out in a fit of rage.

"Crystal!" Glacier called as he started, but Rouge held her arm out and stopped him.

"Let her go," she said.

"But Rouge, she…"

"…Just found out that her mother may be dead! Right now she's probably angry, confused & heartbroken, and it wouldn't be good to stand in her way right now!"

Glacier looked to the door, somewhat frustrated, and then hung his head in regret.

"Can't say I blame her, though: I know what it's like to loose your parents…"

At this, everyone looked at Rouge in surprise.

"Your parents died?" Tails asked.

"Murdered, actually; in cold blood. I was only three years old when it happened, so I really don't remember it all too well. All I remember is my mother & father screaming in agony, a bone-chilling laugh, a loud shattering noise, and a freezing cold chill in the air: the rest I either don't remember, or I've repressed it…"

Everyone remained silent…

"…Every day I curse myself for what I feel as though I let happen; feeling as though I could have done more to stop it, and right now Crystal is probably feeling the same way. There are probably a million emotions swirling around inside of her at this moment: rage, sadness, anger, fear. The best thing for her is to just let her cry & get it out of her system so that she can accept the fact that it happened, and move on with her life…"

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Crystal ran through the corridors of the abandoned GUN base, tears flowing from her eyes in streams as a whirlpool of hate & sadness swirled inside of her.

"_Why" _she mentally scolded herself; _"why did this have to happen?! I was the guardian of Ice! I was responsible for the protection of the Soul; for the safety of my village & my people; for the safety of my mother! But no, I had to leave! All because of a stupid vision my mother said she had, I had to just leave everything behind & leave my village vulnerable! It's all my fault! IT'S ALL MY FALUT!!!"_

Crystal burst through the doors leading outside. A small snow storm had just started, and was gradually getting stronger as Crystal ran. After running a few more yards, she finally collapsed to her hands & knees in the freshly-fallen snow. By now, her tears had frozen over on her cheeks (from the combination of her own body's low temperature & the outside air), but she was still crying.

"_Why didn't I just stay?! I knew that something like this would happen if I left; I KNEW!!! My friends… my village… my Mother… I've failed them all…"_

Sadness would soon be replaced by anger, and then escalated into rage as Crystal clenched her fists. Slowly she stood back up, and kept her fists clenched to her side. She was so angry now that she was shaking like a leaf in the wind from the pure rage & hatred that she felt. And then her eyes shot open, revealing that the had turned blood red, and possessed a sort of _demonic_ essence about them.

"…But I will not fail the world! Frosta had better beware, because I will hunt her down, I will FIND her…"

She brought up her hand, open palm faced up, and clenched it into a fist, summoning up an icy aura around it.

"…And I WILL have my REVENGE!!!"

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**Slam422: Wow; two in a row! I'm on a roll!**

**Just know, however, that this isn't going to be a common occurrence. The reason I was able to get these chapters done so quickly is because I have been working on this particular arc since I started on the original version of the story: before I restarted it due to the fact that it sucked ballz (personally, I still think that my stories suck, but I'm nowhere NEAR as bad as I used to be). The next arc, the Water Village, will not be as quick to be updated because I've yet to actually start working it out much other than creating the villain for the arc (who doesn't even have a proper back story yet, might I add)… So, yeah; that might take a while to get done…**

**In any case! I realized that I forgot to do a disclaimer in the previous chapter, so this chapter's will cover both.**

_**DISCLAIMER:**__** I do not own, or even think that I own, Knuckles, Rouge, Tails or any other trademarked character, item or theme featured in this Fan Fiction. They belong to the masterminds at SEGA™ and Sonic Team™. Anything else, (including the story, enemies, machines, characters (major or otherwise) & items) featured here are all the work of yours truly, Slam422, and are not allowed to be used by anyone without permission (not even SEGA).**_

**Well, that's all I can think of ATM. I'm working on some character profiles for the minor characters of this arc over on my DA & Sheezy accounts. I've already finished Frosta's, so head on over there to check it out if you want (you can find the link to my DA & Sheezy accounts via my main character profile links on my user page here on , if you are interested), but other than that, I've nothing left to say other than to please let me know what you all thought of this chapter!**

**Until next time, Later Days!**


	15. The Way of the Dragon

**Slam422: ……I have no excuse for the length of time it took to make this chapter, save for the usual "writers block", "laziness", and "distracted by life" excuses. After completing this half-way, I just got distracted away from finishing it until recently, where a mix-up in the payment of my bills caused my internet connection to be severed for a few days, thus allowing me to finally focus on this chapter and finish it up.**

**Again, I apologize for the wait (for those who even still read this). If you are one of the few who actually does enjoy my work, then I'd like to point out that my work is not limited to just fan fiction. I also have an art account over on DA, Sheezy & FA; all of which I update semi-regularly with various artworks made by myself. You can check all of that out by following the links in my User Page here on .**

**Now that I've gotten that bit of self-promotion out of the way, let's get to the story! As always; disclaimer is at the bottom.**

**(WARNING: Lots of words ahead with minimal action scenes)  
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Chapter 15: The Way of the Dragon**

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"…_Why do I feel like this?"_ Rouge thought to herself.

After Crystal had run out of the meeting, Rouge was not too long behind. Needing a bit of time to clear her head after that little moment, she flew up to the highest point of the base to think. But the more she thought, the more confused she became.

"_Ever since I got here, I've been feeling so strange; like I've been here before. The thing is; I KNOW I've never been here before, even on a mission for GUN, but it's all just so… familiar. It feels like memories I've long forgotten are starting to re-emerge or something……"_

Rouge hung her head and sighed.

"Listen to me going on," she said, "I'm starting to sound like Shadow was during that whole 'amnesia' thing. I'm sure this whole thing is nothing more than a side effect of that medical serum I was bathed in. Or maybe I'm still a bit loopy from that near-death experience from when the X Tornado was shot down…"

As Rouge said this, she looked down to the landing port to see the wrecked frame of the X Tornado being dragged into the hangar area of the base for repairs. Rouge knew that even if she managed to get the Soul of Ice back, that she'd still be stuck here until the repairs to the plane were done.

"_*sigh*, this is going to be one long, LONG adventure…"_

It was just then that Rouge noticed something moving off in the distance, near the barrier to the former Ice Echidna Village.

"What's that…?"

Rouge struggled to see through the blowing snow & ice that whipped around near the barrier, but managed to make out a very familiar female echidna running straight toward it.

"Is that… Crystal? What's she doing going at the barrier like…"

That was when she realized it: Crystal was looking for revenge!

"No, she can't be… There's just no way… She's not THAT stupid, is she?!"

Rouge got her answer when a small flash of light occurred just as Crystal jumped through the barrier.

"*sigh*, apparently, she IS that stupid… I've gotta go get some help!"

* * *

Inside the barrier, Crystal landed from her jump in a pile of knee-deep snow. As she stood up, she saw for the first time just what shape the village was now in. The Village itself was more of a small city than an actual village. She had landed on the main street of the village, which ran along a straight path into the business district, where many stores, restaurants & office buildings once stood. I say 'once' because all that was left of these former structures were frozen ruins; the buildings having collapsed under the weight of the Ice & snow that coated every square inch of the village.

Looking off into the distance, Crystal could also see where the palace, a place she once called home, once stood. In its place was a foreboding, mountain-like spire of ice, surrounded by what seemed to be an impenetrable wall of giant ice spikes. Whatever was left of the castle & the grounds on which it stood was either destroyed or frozen over like the rest of the city.

The rage that had been swelling up inside of Crystal was beginning to overflow even more at the sight of her former home being ravaged & destroyed. However, something caught her eye that distracted her for a moment. Looking over to a chunk of ice that was laying on a street corner's remains, Crystal could have sworn that it was staring at her. When she saw this, she knew EXACTLY what it meant.

"…I know you're watching, Frosta!" she called out, "I'm going to kill you for what you did to my people & to my home! And my mother; my poor, dear, sweet mother… I will make you suffer for what you did to her! DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU MONSTER; I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!"

Crystal's yell of anger and rage echoed throughout the farthest corners of the village. It found its way through ruined parks, crumbled homes, and even managed to make its way into the sewers. Crystal breathed heavily as she waited a few moments for an answer that she knew wasn't coming, before taking a deep breath and calming herself down.

Crystal dashed forward into the village, only to be stopped a mere few feet by an explosion of ice & snow. The explosion knocked her back & up in the air a bit, but Crystal simply back-flipped & landed with some style before standing back up and striking a battle stance. But when the ice dust cleared, Crystal was dumbfounded to see only a single Ice Grunt standing before her.

"You not welcome here!" it said, "You be destroyed now!"

"*pffft* HA!" Crystal mockingly laughed, "Does Frosta honestly think that a lone Ice Grunt is enough to…"

The grunt simply pointed behind him, a smug little smirk on his face. Crystal looked up to see the ice all around starting to shift & form into thousands upon thousands of ice grunts, as well as a handful of giant, powerful-looking Ice Golems: and they were all headed straight for her.

"…Okay, that a little more intimidating…"

* * *

"ARGH," Tails growled in frustration, "the X Tornado is a wreck!"

Out in the hangar area of the base, Tails looked over the ruined salvage that was the remnants of his X Tornado. The main body was mostly in-tact, save for many dings, holes & missing components. The right engine had been completely ripped off, the wings had broken off, the cone was flat as a pancake, and there was a huge pile of broken electronics & pieces of scrap metal that broke off of the jet.

"Don't worry, Tails," Shard reassured him, "I'm sure that, with the aid of me and my team of scientists, you can rebuild the X Tornado good as new; maybe even better!"

"I know, but still: it took me forever to make her! I had to get a bunch of parts custom made for it, there were so many problems during the development cycle, not to mention the tedious job of collecting the rings I needed to pay off those I ordered parts & components from. It just makes me feel bad that all that work I did was wasted on her maiden flight!"

"Ah, get over it," Knuckles said as he and Glacier walked forward, "besides: it's not the first time one of your planes was shot down."

"I know, but still…"

Glacier laughed to himself a bit as he watched Knuckles playfully pick on Tails, but sighed and hung his head. His mind was elsewhere right now; on that of his goddaughter.

"Sir Glacier," Shard said, "is something the matter?"

"Huh?" he said, being brought out of his thoughts, "Oh, it's… nothing."

"You're worried about Crystal," Tails asked, "aren't you?"

"…Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah," Knuckles said, "it is. But it's understandable: you ARE her godfather after all, so it's only natural that you would be worried for her. I mean: she DID just find out that her mother may be dead, so it's only natural she'd be upset."

"Still, I'm worried. Crystal is the kind of person who feels as though she has to do everything, and when something happens she blames herself for it. I'm just worried that she's going to do something stupid…"

"Hey! I hate to interrupt your little conversation, but we've got some major problems!"

Everyone looked up to see Rouge fly quickly down to them. She had a look of panic on her face, and seemed to be quite distraught.

"Rouge," Knuckles asked, "what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"If only it were that simple. I just saw Crystal run head-on into the barrier: I think she's going to try and take on Frosta all by herself!"

"WHAT?!"

"What is she thinking?!" Tails exclaimed.

"Revenge," Rouge simply stated; "she wants to get revenge for what Frosta did to her home & mother."

"Damn it!" cursed Glacier, "I KNEW something like this was going to happen! I just KNEW it!"

"T-this isn't good…" Shard panicked, "…if Frosta get's her hands on Crystal then… t-then…"

"Then what?!" Knuckles asked impatiently.

"...then Frosta will have all she needs to break the seal that keeps her trapped inside the barrier!"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Knuckles & Tails both had a look of shock on their faces, fearing what this could mean. Rouge, however, had a look of shame on hers.

"This is my fault," she said; "if I didn't stop you trying to stop her from running off, this wouldn't have happened. I practically handed her over to that monster!"

"But you couldn't have known this would happen," said Shard in an attempt to make her feel better, though it didn't really work.

"Does it matter? Regardless of whether or not I knew I still let her go; and right now she's probably already being used in some weirdo ritual to break that barrier! But I'm not going to let her fall into Frosta's hands! Even if I end up getting myself killed, I'm going to go in there and get her out!"

"Rogue, wait!" Glacier said as he grabbed her arm before she could fly off, "You can't go in: the moment you pass through the barrier, Frosta WILL know, and she will send everything she has after you!"

"What?"

"Frosta is the embodiment of every negative aspect of the Ice element. Her powers, now amplified by the fragment of the Soul of Ice that she stole…"

"Fragment?" Tails asked, "But I thought you said…"

"I'll explain that later! As I was saying, she is able to send her very essence throughout the ice & snow that surrounds her. As such, all the ice within the barrier is like an extension of herself: she can both see & feel anyone who enters into the barrier."

"You DO know I can fly, right?" Rouge said, "I just won't land so I don't tip her off."

"She'll still be able to see you." Shard said, "You'd have to be able to turn invisible to be able to successfully infiltrate the village ruins."

"So you're pretty much saying it's impossible to get in there."

"Not entirely. I have something that I've been working on lately in hopes of being able to launch a full-scale invasion of Frosta's palace without her knowing! Follow me!"

Shard quickly ran off towards the base, stopping for a moment to motion for Rouge to follow him. Rogue merely shrugged her shoulders & ran off after him, the others following closely behind.

* * *

An Ice Grunt flew back from a strong kick from Crystal, hitting against a stone wall & shattering right away. By now, Crystal had made her way to the gates of Frosta's fortress, leaving a trail of shattered ice fragments from the various Ice Grunts that she had destroyed.

She flung another Grunt into a nearby pole, causing it to shatter upon impact, before jumping out of the way of an Ice Golem's fist. She landed on the Golem's arm & ran up it; drawing her fist back and letting loose with a devastating punch that left a large crack in the golem's face. The Golem lurched back a bit from the surprising force of the punch, before attempting to knock the Ice Echidna off. But just as the creature took a swing, Crystal quickly jumped out of the way, causing the golem to punch itself in the face; shattering its head in the process.

Crystal landed atop the gate as she looked behind just in time to notice the Golem she jumped off of fall to pieces, and then jumped down into the courtyard of the Ice Fortress. The courtyard was, surprisingly, a beautiful, crystallized garden with trees & flowers expertly carved out of ice. From where she was, there was a straight path that lead up to the main entryway; which was a large gate that was carved with intricate, icy designs. Everything just seemed so peaceful………too peaceful

"This looks too easy…" Crystal pondered aloud, "She's definitely leading me into a trap. Does she honestly think…"

Just then, a large crashing noise came from behind her. Crystal looked back to see the large fist of a Golem sticking through a large hole in the gate.

"Crap; they're breaking through! Looks like I've got no choice…"

Crystal quickly dashed down the path in front of her, looking behind to see the Golems breaking through the gate. When she turned her attention back in front, she noticed two figures standing in front of the door. They looked to be ice statues of a pair of nude Echidna women, but they looked like they were moving.

In fact; they were moving. They were Sentinels; Echidnas who have been corrupted by an elemental force & enslaved under Frosta's icy rule.

The two Ice Sentinels lifted their hands up, and brought them forward, unleashing an icy blast that caused large ice spikes to shoot up, creating a wall that blocked off the enterance.

Not missing a beat, Crystal quicky took a sharp turn to the left and dashed out over the snowy garden; using her powers to glide effortlessly over the ice and snow as she attempted to outrun the quickly spreading wall. Just as the wall was about to reach the edge of the garden, Crystal made her move and quickly dashed behind the wall just as it closed off.

In this narrow space, Crystal could see both of the Ice Sentinels running in her direction. Taking action, Crystal quickly pushed her hands forward, sending a burst of ice and snow that knocked both of the Sentinels out of the way; clearing the way for Crystal to dash past & enter the gateway.

Inside, Crystal paused for a minute to catch her breath and look around. Surprisingly enough, aside from some ice that had formed here and there from how cold it was inside, the foyer of the castle was largely untouched as far as Crystal's memory of the castle went: a large, semi-circular room with an upper level that was access by a pair of staircases that were connected at either end of the upper floor and curved inward somewhat as they went down. In the center of the upper level was a balcony of sorts that overlooked the entire room; which was used, Crystal recalled, whenever her mother made an announcement to the Echidnas that would gather at the castle for special events. In the lower area, against the far wall, were three doors; one on the right that led to a storage room, one on the left that led to a kitchen, and a pair double-doors that lead further into the castle. There was also a pair of double doors upstairs that led into the throne room.

_The throne room,_ Crystal thought to herself, _that's gotta be where I'll find Frosta. I hope she's ready for me, because I'm gonna make her pay for this!_

Crystal approached the right staircase, and was about to start climbing up, when all of a sudden a large icicle fell from the ceiling and landed right in front of her, causing the poor girl to fall backwards and bump her head on the floor. She laid there for a moment before forcing herself to sit up. Rubbing the sore spot on her head, she looked over to the giant icicle that was just a half-inch from impaling her; which was now blocking the stairwell up. As she stood up, a loud crashing noise came from behind her. Looking back, she noticed that another giant icicle had fallen; this time blocking off the other staircase.

"Damn," she cursed aloud, "looks like Frosta isn't in the mood for some company right now…"

"_Ah, but that's where you're wrong…"_

Crystal shot around when she heard this voice just in time to see the ice on the floor begin to rise up. It morphed, twisted & melded together until the icy form of Frosta finally appeared.

"…_you are the kind of company that I will always welcome."_

"Frosta," Crystal said as she took a battle-ready stance, "so, you finally come and face me!"

"_Hehehe; you certainly are an impetuous one, aren't you? I take it you've come for your mo…"_

Frosta didn't even get a chance to finish, as Crystal had rushed her and pinned her up against the wall.

"WHERE IS SHE!? I swear; if you've harmed even a SINGLE hair on her head, I'll... **GAH!!!**"

Crystal went flying back a few feet, having been knocked away by a large fist that Frosta formed on her body in the stomach area. She landed and slid along the partially frozen floor until she hit the opposite wall.

"_Did you honestly think that was going to work?"_ Frosta said with an evil smile wide on her face as she morphed the ice fist back into her body.

She snapped her fingers, and in an instant all the ice on the floor around Crystal began to shift and move over the Echidna girl's body. Before long, her entire body, save for her head, was completely immobilized inside of what could only be described as a second skin of ice. Frosta then willed Crystal's frozen body to stand, with her arms out to the sides.

"_Your mother is just fine,"_ she said as she approached Crystal, the echidna's frozen form, _"she's waiting for you nice and comfortably up in the throne room. And I'll take you to her, IF you cooperate with me."_

"Cooperate?! You destroy my home, destroy countless innocent lives, kidnap my mother; and you want me to COOPERATE with you?! Go to HELL!!!"

"_Now, now; let's not be so unreasonable. All I am asking for is a small favor, and in return I will release your mother to you. Although, I've got to wonder; after what she did to you, why do you even want to?"_

"…What are you talking about?"

"_Why, I'm referring to the fact that your own mother banished you from your home…"_

"Banished? I don't know who told you that, but I wasn't banished; I was sent…"

"…_to go and find the Chosen of Chaos. Yes, yes, I heard about that. But what you don't know is that the whole "find the Chosen" thing was just a ruse; a though impossible task set forth by your mother for the sole purpose of keeping you from returning."_

Crystal was shocked when she heard this. Surely she was lying, right? Still, something didn't set right with her on this.

"_The truth is that you are a being that should never have existed; a bastard love child of a forbidden love that never should have been, and yet had been gifted with such power. The few who knew the truth were so ashamed of you that they hid the truth from both you and the people of this city, fearing what would happen should you learn the truth. They didn't love you…"_

Frosta turned from her for a moment, took a couple of steps away, and then looked at Crystal over her shoulder (to increase the dramatic effect).

"…_they feared, and despised you!"_

"….I…I don't believe you!" Crystal exclaimed, "My family loved me, my friends trusted me with their lives! None of it can be true!"

"_Hehehe, you are SO naïve. Everything I've told you is the truth; if it wasn't, then why would your mother force you to where those inhibitor bracelets?"_

"My…my mother gave them to me…to train…"

"_You don't really believe that, do you?"_

Crystal was about to answer, but found that she couldn't. She knew that Frosta was just trying to psych her out in order to better manipulate her, but something about what the ice spirit said was starting to make her form a bit of doubt.

"_Your silence is all the answer I need…and yet, you still know very little about the truth…… If anything, your dilemma reminds me of my own."_

"…What do you mean?"

"…_Believe it or not, before I became the all powerful Ice Spirit that you see before you, I was a normal Echidna child."_

"You were…an echidna? But you look nothing like one."

"_Ah, but I assure you; I was. Of course, being that I haven't used my original form for over 400 years…"_

"Four hundred years; how is that even possible?!"

"_Oh, whoops, got a bit ahead of myself there. In any case, it was as I said; I was an Echidna. You see, at a very early age, I discovered that I possessed a level of ice energy and skill to use it far beyond my years. In nearly a millennium, no one had the amount of power that I possessed. Soon, rumors began to spread that I, of all people, was the foretold Chosen of the Ice Element…"_

"…I think…I'm starting to see where this story is leading…"

"…_Soon the rumors spread like wildfire that the coming of the Chosen was at hand: I was respected by all, given everything I had ever wanted, trained by the greatest of elemental masters; my life was at it's peak! But, when the day came for me to inherit my thought-to-be birthright…"_

"…The Soul of Ice rejected you; it knew that..."

"…_that I WASN'T the Chosen of the Ice Element; as everyone had led me to believe! All of my hopes, my expectations; everything I ever believed in and hoped for was shattered like thin ice! After that, everyone who worshiped the very ground I walked upon turned against me! Those who were my friends cowered every time I walked past. Where I once had respect and influence; it turned into hatred and mistrust! Rumors were spread that I was a spawn of Nazo himself! Even…even…my own Father…"_

Just then, a light, reddish glow started to pulse inside of Frosta's semi-translucent icy body. She gripped her chest in what appeared to be pain and dropped to her knees. Her breathing started to become erratic as she attempted to regain her composure. Crystal looked down on her, wondering what was going on, when she noticed; Frosta was crying!

"What the… What's happening? I can't believe I'm asking this, but… Are you okay?"

"_I…I'm fine…,"_ she said, trying to force herself to her feet; _"just… a leftover from my former life…"_

Frosta finally managed to push herself back to her feet. Taking a deep breath, the reddish glow in her body began to die down. The tears that came from her eyes had frozen on her cheeks, but a simple though caused them to be absorbed back into her body.

"…_Needless to say,"_ she continued, acting as if nothing happened, _"I was considered a threat now. The elders, in their infinite wisdom, tried to end my "threat" by banishing me from the city with no food or water to sustain me. They underestimated me, as my powers allowed me to survive in the harsh conditions of the arctic tundra of Holoska. They would have been better off killing me, because my banishment only fueled my want for revenge against those who betrayed me. So, do you know what I did?"_

"…"

"…_I trained. I trained myself to achieve a level of power and control in the hopes that doing so would rid myself of my past identity and start over fresh. Over the course of the next twenty years, I trained my body, mind & soul to become in tune with the element I was cursed to wield. I had become one with the element, and achieved a state of perfect unity with the element; the previously-though-impossible-to-attain "perfect freeze". I had become the ice itself; cold, unforgiving, uncaring, emotionless, lethal. I had mastered the element as much as I could, becoming a part of the very ice and snow that surrounded me, and yet… I still could not be rid myself of the feelings of betrayal and lust of revenge that tied me to the past life I once lived. And so I made a vow; to destroy all who betrayed me by any means necessary. It was the only way that I felt I could finally move on. And so, I set out to destroy this Echidna city, and all who were in it."_

"But you quite obviously failed, am I right?"

Frosta gave Crystal a sharp, icy, emotionless stare before back-handing her across the face hard.

"_Who's telling this story," _she snapped, _"me or you?!"_

Crystal grunted in pain from the sting of the slap across her face. A decent sized red mark had quickly formed on her cheek, but she was unable to nurse it due to her being frozen from the neck down. Almost instantly after, Frosta seemed to regain her "caring" look.

"…_I'm…sorry about that. Talking about my past always gets me a bit on edge… Now the, where was I…? Ah, yes; I remember!_

_As you had said, I did fail. You see, those of the Echidna clan that banished me knew I would return, and had prepared a spell that trapped me deep beneath the glaciers; eternally sealed away under the city itself, unable to get my revenge and be forever tied to my past."_

"But you were released; by Black Rose, I'll bet."

Frosta simply smiled.

"_You would assume correctly. Of course, I told her that I would follow her for freeing me in return for the power to summon and use Shadow Demons, but I do no truly bear my allegiance to her; I've my own agenda to tend to; which reminds me…"_

Frosta snapped her fingers, causing Crystal to, unwillingly, bring her frozen arms forward. The ice that coated over Crystal's bracelets also receded, freeing them without letting her arms break free. She then pulled from her hammerspace what looked to be some sort of electronic collar, which she was quick to lock onto Crystal's neck.

"What are you doing?!"

"_Relax; this collar stimulates the mental state of an individual to keep them from going feral when their body undergoes certain…changes."_

""Feral", "Changes"; I'm not sure what you mean, but I don't like where this is going."

"_Ah yes, I never explained what it was I needed from you. You see; I've done some research on the spell that your mother cast to keep my powers locked inside this barrier, and I've discovered a potion that will not only allow me to exit the barrier, but it will also forever shield me from any more curses or spells that will hinder me any further."_

"And how do I fit into that equation?"

"_Well, there is ONE key ingredient I am still missing to finish this potion, and you are the one who will give it to me."_

"And what, pray tell, is that?"

Frosta pulled out what looked like an icicle that had its inside hollowed out; almost like a makeshift syringe, and pointed its tip straight at Crystal.

"_That would be the blood of a Dragon. And since I don't have a pureblood Dragon to extract the blood from, I'm willing to settle for your Half-breed Dragon blood as a substitute!"_

Crystal merely gave Frosta a dumbfounded look, before bursting out into laughter.

"Hahahahahah! Are you serious?! You honestly think that I'm half Dragon?"

"_Trust me, my dear; though you don't look the part, you ARE part dragon on your father's side."_

"…Whatever you're on; can I have some? Cause it sounds like some really good stuff!"

"…_Oh come now; let's be mature about this!"_

"Look frost-for-brains, let me spell it out for you: My father was an ECHIDNA! He died during the Great War's final battle before I was born!"

"_Is that what you Mother, who, need I remind you, BANISHED you from your home under the false pretense that you were to find the Chosen of Chaos, told you?"_

Crystal was quick to shut up.

"…_Tell me, my dear; are you familiar with how the war between the Ice Dragons and the Ice Echidnas came to an end?"_

"…I am…"

"…_Well…?"_

"…According to the archives: several months before the end of the War, one of the most powerful of the Ice Dragon warriors, Blizzard, defected to the Ice Echidna side when he discovered that the Ice Dragon King had started the war as part of a Shadow Demon conspiracy to steal the Soul of Ice. With his knowledge of the Ice Dragon city and its defenses, and using both the resources supplied to him by my mother and a legion of followers who defected along with him, Blizzard was able to defeat the Ice Dragon King and end the war with next-to-no casualties, save for his own sacrifice & the life of the corrupted King."

"…_That is correct."_

"So what does that have to do with me supposedly being part Ice Dragon; and how would you even know?"

"_I was still sealed underneath the city during the Great War. I may not have been able to do anything, but I was able to see it all through the ice and snow around me. You see, war is a very strange thing: during a war, you never know who your friend is or who is your enemy; there are many out there who can easily deceive you or take advantage of you. Sometimes, people can be so desperate to find a friend that they end up doing things that are disgraceful and unforgivable. Your mother and Blizzard were no exceptions."_

Crystal's eyes began to widen in shock; she knew where this was going.

"_Your Mother thought she was merely allying herself with Blizzard to help end the war. But soon she began to form feelings for him. Those feelings developed from a mutual respect, to a passing friendship, to a close friendship, and then even further than that! Do you know what I'm saying?"_

"…Blizzard…was…my…"

"_SAY IT! You know it's true, so just say it!"_

Crystal's eyes began fill with tears as the truth finally hit her.

"…H-he…was my…b-bio…logical…f-father."

"_Hahahaha! It's just as I said: the bastard child of a forbidden love that was never meant to be!"_

By this point, Crystal had broken down into tears. She didn't want to believe it, but she somehow knew it was true.

"_Now then; to business,"_ Frosta said as she began to remove the inhibitor bracelets from Crystal's wrists, _"first I'm going to need you to be in your Dragon form for the blood I take to be of any use, so we'll just get rid of these unnecessary restraints."_

Just as Frosta removes the second of the bracelets, something unexpected happens: Crystal's body suddenly gives off a super strong burst of icy energy that not only knocks Frosta off her feet, but also shatters the ice that held Crystal's body, causing her to fall to the floor.

"…_Well,"_ Frosta said in a "surprised" tone as she got to her feet, _"that certainly was unexpected. Still, I can't say I'm too surprised; I doubt you ever took those bracelets off since you first put them on, so your energy levels were probably through the roof. At least this SHOULD expedite the transformation process."_

And, indeed, this was the case. Crystal grunted and moaned in pain on the floor as her body's ice energy levels sky-rocketed as it began to cause the transformation. First, her body began to grow somewhat, gaining a slightly more muscular tone; her tail and hair also grew out a few inches. Her arms and legs began to elongate as she stood up on all fours in a feral manner. Her legs began to morph as well; becoming double jointed like most dragons tend to have, and bone spikes pierced through her elbows. Her fur began to harden into highly-polished scales, the skin on her muzzle changed color from a pale skin tone to an icy blue color that was about a shade-and-a-half lighter than her body color, her teeth grew into fangs, her pupils and iris' were lost in a strange white glow coming from her eyes, and finally a pair of large, dragon-like wings painfully grew out of her back. Her clothes now tattered and her body completely sapped of its will, Crystal, now in her Dragon form, fell semi-unconscious to the floor.

Immediately, Frosta walked over to Crystal's unmoving form and pulled out the makeshift syringe. She pushed the needle-like end into crystal's flesh, and almost immediately the hollow center of the icicle filled up completely with silver-colored blood.

"_Ah,"_ Frosta marveled as she pulled the icicle out of Crystal's flesh,_ "so THAT'S what a Half-Dragon's blood looks like!"_

Frosta looked down at Crystal, who was still in a pain induced stupor, and put on a fake smile of gratitude before snapping her fingers, causing the giant icicles that blocked the way upstairs to shatter.

"_Thank you so much for the blood, my dear; I'll be sure to put it to good use. And as I said; you may now go to rescue your mother…that is; if you even still care about her!"_

Frosta began to walk away from Crystal, when she stopped and looked back at her.

_Still,_ she thought, _something doesn't set well with me. Even when you consider the amount of energy those Inhibitor Bracelets held back, and if you take her heritage into account; there's no way the power wouldn't be anywhere near enough to break free of MY ice; let alone knock me back like it did……… I wonder…"_

Frosta walked back over to the motionless body of Crystal and, somewhat slowly, reached down and grabbed a hold of the headband that held back Crystal's bangs. With a quick tug, she pulled off the headband; her eyes widening as she saw it.

…_It…it can't be…"_ Frosta said in an almost genuinely surprised tone.

But it was; adorning Crystal's forehead was the left half of a snowflake marking; which was the exact match for the right half that was on Frosta's own skull.

"_I…I don't believe this! All this time, all my searching of this city leading me to no clues of its whereabouts; the other half of the Soul of Ice…resided inside of you?!"_

Before Frosta could have a chance to fully absorb what she had just discovered, the large doors that lead outside into the frozen city; letting in a flurry of ice and snow. Frosta looked up only to be impacted by an unknown force that, literally, sent her flying back at the far wall and straight through the double doors; causing her to skid along the long hall behind the doors until she finally hit the wall; shattering on impact with it. Needless to say that she dropped the icicle full of Crystal's Dragon blood, causing it to shatter on the floor and spill all of it. The blood instantly froze solid upon exposure to the icy air.

A small distortion could be seen where Frosta once stood as the form of none other than Rouge the Bat appeared. She wore a strange purple bodysuit that had strange yellow and blue glowing accents. A belt that featured several battery packs that connected to the suit was worn around her waist, and a strange mask was clutched in her hand. Almost instantly, she went over to try and help Crystal.

"Crystal," she said as she tried to help the girl to her feet, "are you alright."

"…uuuhh…" Crystal moaned in response; finally starting to snap out of her stupor at the sound of Rouge's voice.

"Oh my goodness," Rouge gasped in surprise at Crystal's new form, "Crystal… What…did she do to you?!"

Just then, Rouge's sensitive ears started to pick up the sound of something crackling. Looking back to the hallway that she knocked Frosta down with a devastating kick to the face, she saw the fragments of the Ice Spirit's body begin to fuse back together. Rouge began to panic a bit, and attempted to hurry her ally to her feet.

"C'mon, Crystal; put a move on it! We need to get out of here before Mrs. Blizzard-brain back there reforms!"

"…But…my mother…I…"

Rouge looked back again as Crystal finally managed to get to her feet. Frosta had almost completely reformed her body, and her soulless eyes were set dead on Rouge.

"Listen to me Crystal; I heard what Frosta told you. If it is true and your mother is alive, then I promise that I will do everything in my power to help you get her back. But right now we've gotta get out of here before Frosta decides to go apeshit on us!"

"But…, Crystal said as she finally snapped back into reality, "we'll never make it out of here in time on foot!"

"You've got wings now, don't you?" Rouge asked as she put her mask back on. Crystal simply nodded in response

"Then use them! Take to the air and stay close to me; I'll get us out of here!"

Crystal eyes opened in realization as she remembered her wings. She wasn't sure if this was going to work, but right now she had to try. Struggling a bit from how stiff they still were, Crystal managed to will her wings to open and begin flapping. She flapped them as hard as she could until she finally managed to lift herself off the ground. Once she managed to lift off, it was easy enough for her to get some altitude and fly out of danger, with Rouge very close behind.

At this point Frosta managed to get herself completely reformed and dashed out to the door. She wasn't fast enough to catch them, but she wouldn't give up. Summoning large amounts of a icy-blue-colored energy through her arms, she shot a barrage of Ice Blasts out at the two escapees in hopes of stopping them. Rouge saw the blasts coming, and quickly signaled to Crystal to try and deflect them. Crystal obliged, and quickly erected a barrier of energy around herself and Rouge that deflected some of the energy blasts away. After the energy bolts finally ceased, Rouge grabbed a hold of Crystal's arm and pressed a button on her belt with her free hand. The light around both Rouge and Crystal began to distort and shift until the two of them faded from sight.

Back on the ground, Frosta frantically attempted in vain to ascertain the whereabouts of both Crystal and Rouge, but lost sight of them. She then closed her eyes and sent her vision throughout the ice and snow around her, but still; nothing. Frosta began to clench her fist in REAL anger as the reddish glow returned from inside her body.

"_I was…so close…"_ she said as her body began to shake from the intense, seething anger she was feeling. _"I had the blood……I finally found the other half of the Soul of Ice………!"_

At this point, Frosta's body was letting off so much energy from her anger that she had created a concentrated blizzard of ice and snow around her.

"_EVERYTHING!!!" _she shouted,_ "I had EVERYTHING I needed!!! So close to finally ending this! I was SO CLOSE to finally reaching my goals, and what did I do?! I LET MY GUARD DOWN FOR A SECOND!!! __**AN EFFIN' SECOND!!! AAAAHRGH!!!**__"_

At this point, Frosta was so angry that she literally snapped her fingers to summon up an Ice Grunt only to take it and throw it through the nearest wall. Panting and gasping from being so angry, she was literally swinging her fists through the air in a tantrum, yelling various explicatives that I shall not bother writing down here for the sake of the younger readers, before yelling out in frustration one more time and collapsing to the ground to cry.

As she cried, though, the reddish glow began to die down inside of her body. The tears that she shed soon began to freeze into her body again as she finally managed to regain her composure. The blizzard around her started to die down again as Frosta picked herself back up from the floor; laughing somewhat under her breath.

"_Hehehehe…"_ She laughed, _"…Well played, my worthy adversaries; this round goes to you. But this battle isn't over just yet: I know that you will be back for your precious mother, and to try and retake the city. When you do, know that I will not hold back; I will show you no mercy. And you will see JUST how cold I can be…"  
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**Slam422: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next chapter will (hopefully) bring this arc to a close, after which I will focus on the Water Village arc after an intermission chapter or two.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rouge, Knuckles, Tails or any related character, item or theme; they are all ©SEGA™ and Sonic Team™. Crystal, Glacier, Shard, Frosta & the rest of that stuff all belong to me, Slam422 (AKA MasterofChaos in certain circles).**

**Until next time; Later Days!**


	16. Consoling a Friend

**Slam422: All right, remember how I said that this chapter was gonna finish up the Ice Village arc? Well, as I started this chapter, I realized that the way it was going I was going to have to extend the arc by at least one more chapter to avoid a drop in quality. And hey, look at the bright side; you guys all get another chapter much sooner than it would be normally! Because of that fact, however, this chapter may be much shorter than it should be. Sorry if that makes anyone upset, but it's the way it's gotta be.**

**NOTE: This chapter contains a VERY small bit of matureness due to a very brief & vague depiction of nudity. Small as it is, it's enough to make note of it.**

**As always, the Disclaimer is at the bottom, so let's get things started!  
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Chapter 16: Consoling a Friend

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It had been three hours since Rouge and Crystal escaped Frosta's clutches, and so far things aren't looking too bright for our heroes. Crystal, believing that no one would like her anymore now that she and the rest of them knew about her being half dragon, went off to go hide somewhere in the base. She left so quickly after getting back, that not even Rouge was able to catch up to her before she disappeared.

Deciding to just let her be for the time being (despite Rouge's surprising protest against this notion), the five of them (Rouge, Knuckles, Tails, Glacier & Shard) decided to return to the briefing room to discuss the events of the day before deciding on a course of action. Or at least; that's what the others did. Rouge, on the other hand, couldn't keep her mind off of Crystal. She was distracted at the thought of what would happen to her should she be left alone in her current state of depression. Her mind was so filled with concern for the poor girl that she jumped a bit when Knuckles snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Hey, Rouge," Knuckles asked, "you okay? You seem kinda out of it right now."

"Huh?" Rouge replied, snapping out of her thoughts, "…wha? OH, oh, yeah… I'm fine… I'm just…worried about Crystal, is all…"

"I still can't believe that Crystal is really half Ice Dragon," Tails said in disbelief, "Why didn't you ever tell her?"

"I assure you," Shard confirmed, "there hasn't been a day that we didn't want to. Both Glacier and I had wanted to for the longest time, but…"

"…but?" Knuckles prodded.

"…But we were sworn into secrecy by her mother," Glacier finished. "You see; as a mother, Her Highness was a bit…overprotective of Crystal. She was so afraid of what would happen if the people found out what happened between her and Blizzard, especially considering her future husband and all…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Knuckles interrupted, "…she was engaged?"

"It was an arranged marriage," Shard informed. "It is a law that has been in effect for generations; the ruling monarch of the Ice Echidna city be arranged for marriage to an eligible bachelor, or bachelorette, of noble birth so that an heir to the throne can assuredly be conceived."

"…That's not right," Tails commented.

"I agree," Knuckles added, "What's the point in getting married if you aren't in love?"

"That's exactly what Her Highness said," Shard added, "She had tried her hardest to abolish the law so that she could marry for love instead of the pompous jerk she was being forced to wed. She was lucky that the war happened when it did because if it didn't, then she would have been married at the time Blizzard defected, and Crystal would never have been conceived."

"But that still doesn't explain why you all hid the truth from her!" Rouge snapped. "It doesn't explain what gave you all the right, the audacity to hide something as important as who her real father was! If I were in Crystal's position right now I'd probably…"

Everyone jumped from Rouge's outburst. When Rouge paused, she closed her eyes and gripped her fist tight as a single tear slipped down her cheek.

"I…I'm sorry," Rouge apologized, "That was…uncalled for."

"Is something wrong, Rouge?" Tails asked, "You really haven't been yourself lately."

"Yeah," Knuckles added, "usually you wouldn't care about what happened to someone like Crystal, and now you're getting upset over it. What's going on?"

Turning her back to the table, she walked towards the door to go outside.

"Rouge," Knuckles called, "where are you going?"

"To find Crystal," she answered, "she needs someone to talk to right now."

"Rouge, please," advised Shard, "just let her be. She'll come back once she's calmed down a bit."

"Funny, I remember saying the same thing to Glacier not that long ago, and look how well that turned out."

Shard merely backed down when Rouge said this.

"But do you even know where to look?" Tails asked, "She could be anywhere by now!"

"I've a pretty good idea of where she'll be. When I was up on the observation deck before, I saw the entrance to a glacial cave just south of here; that's probably the best place to start looking."

Glacier sat there for a moment, his eyes closed in though, before getting up and approaching Rouge.

"Are you that dead-set on going to find her?" He asked.

"…Yes, I am. Why; are you going to try and stop me?"

"Heh, we both know I couldn't even if I tried. I just want you to give this to Crystal when you find her."

Glacier reached into his parka and pulled out what looked to be an old envelope. It was somewhat wrinkled, and looked like it had a coffee stain on it, but it looked like it hadn't been opened yet. He handed it to Rouge, who just looked at it with a confused expression on her face.

"This is a letter for Crystal written to her by her mother," he explained, "being a close, childhood friend of the Queen, she entrusted me with this letter and instructed me to give it to her should something happen to her and that she learn the truth about her heritage. I really should be the one to give it to her, but I've got to get to work on planning a strategy for the upcoming siege on the city."

"Siege on the city?" Shard asked, somewhat nervously, "You aren't honestly thinking…?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking! Now that we know that her Highness is alive, we MUST take action if we want to rescue her and defeat Frosta once and for all!"

"NOW you're talkin' my language," said Knuckles as he cracked his…knuckles, "I've been itchin' for a good fight!"

"I'm counting on you, Rouge; bring my goddaughter home safe and sound."

"Don't worry, Glacier," Rouge promised, "I will."

"Good. Oh, and stop by her room before you head out to pick up a new outfit for her; I noticed that the clothes she was wearing were somewhat torn."

"…Yeah, I'll be sure to do that."

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It was a few minutes later when Rouge was flying over the snowy plains near the glaciers. It had started to snow again, so she was getting worried that if Crystal hadn't been there, then it would be hard to find her with her trail buried under the freshly-fallen snow. She had the cave in site, and was headed down to have a look when she saw something sparkle in the snow.

Flying down and landing a few feet outside of the cave, Rouge found a gold necklace lying in the snow. The clasp was broken, signifying that it was probably ripped off; Rouge recognized it instantly.

_This is Crystal's necklace,_ she thought as she glanced over to the cave entrance, _looks like I was right about her being here. I'd better go in and get her before she does something stupid._

Rouge put the necklace in her pocket as she cautiously approached the mouth of the cave, and took a quick glance around before entering. As she walked through the long tunnel, a faint 'tinking' sound could be heard, which slowly grew louder as she went on. As Rouge just approached a large cavern near the end of the tunnel, she heard something crunch under her feet. She looked down to see the shredded remains of Crystal's sweater vest, which was partially frozen to the ground. Looking up, she saw a trail of shredded, half-frozen articles of clothing leading up to Crystal, who was sitting stark naked on an ice chunk. She was holding onto an icicle that she was poking and prodding the collar on her neck with in hopes of removing it.

"C'mon you stupid….GRAHRG!!!" Crystal growled in anger as the icicle snapped in half. She threw the piece she had on the floor before cradling her head in her hands and breaking down into tears.

"Uh, Crystal?" Rouge softly called to Crystal.

Crystal jumped when she heard Rouge's voice and turned back to look at her, only to end up giving her a neutral look of acknowledgement and turning back around.

"Uh…," Rouge said in an attempt to get Crystal to talk, "…so, I see that, uh…your clothes ripped off…"

"…I took them off," Crystal responded in a flat tone, "Dragons don't wear clothes."

"I see…"

Crystal held out her hand, and breathed an icy mist into it; creating another icicle that she proceeded to use to pick at the lock on the collar.

"…What, uh, what are you doing?" Rouge asked

"…Trying to pick the lock on this collar," Crystal responded as she broke the icicle yet again.

"WHAT?! B-but, you can't! Don't you remember; if you remove the collar you'll…"

"…Go feral; Yes, I remember, but what's the difference? Either way it still doesn't change the fact I'm a monster that everyone hates. The way I figure it; if I'm feral, I'll at least be able to forget the pain."

"Now stop that! You aren't a monster, you…"

"LOOK AT ME!!!" Crystal roared as she got up and faced Rouge, whom only came up to about her waist at this point. "I'm a freak; how can you NOT call me a monster in my current state?!"

Rogue simply looked Crystal in the eyes, took a deep breath, and approached her.

"I am looking at you," she said, "and do you know what I see? Not a monster, that's for sure."

Crystal kneeled down to look Rouge in the eyes as she grabbed and cradled the half-dragon's hand.

"…I see a lost child; one who just found out what she was, an extraordinary, kind-hearted, faithful, powerful & beautiful person gifted with a loving family, before she was ready to learn the truth. And I know it's true, because I've seen that both Glacier and Shard care for you deeply…"

"…A nice sentiment, Rouge," Crystal said, having calmed down a bit, "and I thank you for it, but if they love me so much, then why are you here to console me and not them?"

"They're strategizing and planning for the inevitable siege to reclaim the Ice Echidna city, and to rescue your mother. Glacier really did want to be here, but he did give me this to give you."

Rouge pulled the letter out of her hammerspace and handed it to Crystal. Crystal took a good look at the envelope before recognizing the writing on it as her mother's. Almost instantly, she ripped the envelope open and began to read the letter aloud.

_My dearest daughter, Crystal_

_If you are reading this, then you have discovered what you are & I am not there to explain. I am sure that you have many questions, so I hope to do my best to answer them for you._

_I am sorry for hiding this from you, but I did so for your protection. You see, war can leave scars, both physically and mentally. With the Dragons being the ones to start the war, even if it was a Shadow Demon conspiracy, the trust of the Echidna people to them was shattered, and our two tribes drifted even farther apart than the war ever could. But I want you to know that, even though he was a Dragon, I loved your father with all of my heart; with not a day going by that I miss him._

_When you were born, you were of an Echidna form. In a sense, I was both relieved and terrified: relieved because you would have a chance to have a normal life, but terrified because I knew that, as you grew older, you would start to take on more and more of a Draconic appearance, and I feared that you would be rejected by the entire city and banished by the council. I do not know if hiding the truth from you was the right thing to do, but whether it was or wasn't, it was a decision made out of love for you._

_No matter what happens, and no matter what the future may bring; I always have, do, and will love you with all my heart. Nothing is more certain in all my heart and soul than this._

_With endless love, Mom_

A super-cooled tear fell and froze on the page as Crystal finished the letter. She couldn't believe it, and yet was so relieved and happy at the same time. Despite all the doubt and fear she held, she finally knew once and for all that her mother loved her, and that was all she cared about.

"See," Rouge said, "what did I tell you? Your mother does love you, whether you wanted to believe it or not."

"*sniff*," Crystal sniffled, "…Yes, I know that now. Thank you, Rouge; I can never repay you for what you've done for me."

"Ah, don't mention it!" Rouge said; a smile wide on her face.

But that smile soon turned quickly into a look of sadness

"…if anything, I wish I had the love of my parents like you have the love of your mother…"

"…Huh? What…do you mean?"

"…It's just that…well……Ah, never mind; It's not important. Here…"

Rouge pulled out the new set of clothes that she brought with her, and tossed them at Crystal, who wasn't able to catch them all properly.

"…Put these on; we wouldn't want anyone getting any ideas. Or would you rather give those lucky guys a treat for their manhood?"

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**Disclaimer: Knuckles, Tails, Rouge & any related character, item or theme are all ©SEGA™ and Sonic Team™. Crystal, Glacier, Shard & the rest of that stuff all belong to yours truly; Slam422 (MasterofChaos in certain circles).**

**Slam422: I promise: next chapter WILL close out the arc! Until then, Later Days!**


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